


Up

by EmmaJMcGhee



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Fluff and Humor, Romance, Smut, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-04-05 02:21:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 63,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4161996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaJMcGhee/pseuds/EmmaJMcGhee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye and Ward reconnect in a karaoke bar, and begin a mission to take down Hydra. S.H.I.E.L.D. are forced to reconsider their values and perspectives regarding Ward in the wake of Skye leaving them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Belt It Out

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my second fic on here :) Hope you guys like it!  
> Let me know what you thought in a comment below!

“So!” Agent Barbara ‘Bobbi’ Morse said dramatically, turning to her partner in espionage. She didn’t say anything else, just waited for a response.

Sighing, Agent Daisy Skye Johnson took the bait. “So, what?”

The two women were at a karaoke bar, _Belt It Out_ , hoping to draw a suspected Hydra agent out of his or her cover.

“What martini do you want?” Bobbi continued, smiling smugly.

“The non-alcoholic one.” Skye replied with a hard look. Alcohol made her lose control, and there were innocent lives here. Bobbi knew this.

“Oh, come on Skye! Not even one?” the blonde pouted, batting her eyes.

The Inhuman merely gave her a flat look, not going to fall for the puppy-dog-eyes trick. Of which the senior agent was a master, but only one person could make Skye fall for it.

“No, and even if we weren’t on a mission of utmost importance, I wouldn’t drink anything that’s been brewed, aged or mixed.” She said, turning her attention back to sweeping the room.

Pulling a face, Bobbi ordered a Pina Colada.

“You know, I don’t get why Coulson insisted that we take this mission.” Bobbi tried to get conversation going between the two of them. It was awkward as Skye was a lot more reserved since San Juan, but two girls not talking while being at a bar together was conspicuous. “I mean, our faces are known to Hydra. If the suspect is here, they’re just going to bolt.”

“That’s the point.” Skye replied, looking at Bobbi. She had a small smile on her face now, the ambient atmosphere in the bar lifting her mood. “We don’t know what he or she looks like, but if they’re here, they’ll recognise us. You being you, a badass S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who’s infiltrated Hydra before, and me. They’ll know I’m not entirely human anymore, and likely what I can do is on their radar. It’s been a few months.”

“Their behaviour will change, and since we’ve picked up the general patterns of everyone here, we’ll know if they have.” Bobbi finished. She nodded. “It’s a decent plan, but what if there’s no one here from Hydra?”

“Then our source was wrong. Or the agent got tipped off. Either way, we still need to maintain a lookout.”

Bobbi studied the younger agent wistfully. Skye noticed and shifted in her seat.

“What?”

Bobbi slowly shook her head. “Did you know I knew May before Bahrain?”

Skye blinked at the surprise change of topic. “No. But I suppose it makes sense. You were both senior agents before the fall.”

Bobbi nodded this time, but waited for the sudden applause for the singer up on stage to die down before continuing. “She was somewhat like you. Joked around–” she was cut off by the host up on stage.

“Alright, here’s the last solo for now! We’re onto duets next, and we’ll be picking from the crowd!” The crowd in question screamed and cheered as a young oriental man stepped up.

“–pulled pranks, laughed, smiled.” Bobbi continued when the noise died down.

“Yeah, Coulson’s told me this. I’d asked around why May was called The Cavalry.”

“Sheesh! And she didn’t come after you?”

“Ah, no. But she didn’t like me for a while. I never actually asked her directly.”

Bobbi laughed a little. “Wise move in that situation. Anyway, my point is that San Juan seems to be your Bahrain.”

Skye didn’t even flinch.

“You’ve thought about this already, haven’t you?”

“I kind of figured when May offered her help. She knew exactly what to say and what to do to keep me distracted from extremely depressing thoughts.” She gave a tight smile. “I guess we have more in common than what I originally thought.”

“Well, as long as you don’t bang a Ward, I think there should be enough differences between you.” Bobbi said, trying to lighten the mood.

Skye laughed, and Bobbi felt triumphant. “Well, for all the shit he did, at May’s age, if a hot guy’s willing to bang me I wouldn’t complain.”

“You think Ward’s hot?” Bobbi asked, surprised.

“He’s _gorgeous._ ” Skye said instantly and quickly amended when she saw Bobbi’s expression. “But how did that song go? ‘It’s such a pity that boy so pretty, with an ugly heart!’”

“Wow, you can really sing! They’ll probably pull you up for the first duet, you know.”

“Ha-ha, yeah, no.” Skye focused her attention on the man who was rapping a song rather than singing it. “Damn, that guy has talent!”

“Superstar in the making!” Bobbi joked as she looked towards the man just as he finished the song.

 

* * *

 

 

“Grant, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Agent 33, Kara Palamas, said nervously as they entered _Belt It Out_.

“Kara, we could do with a drink. We’ve been on the run for a few months now and my wounds only stopped hurting a week ago.” Grant Ward replied as he walked towards the bar. Sudden cheers and whoops for the solo rapper up on stage drowned out his last words, but Kara knew what he was saying.

“Hey, hey, hey, how about that, eh? Raw talent man, sign on to a record company or something!” The crowd shouted their support as Grant and Kara tried to get to the busy bar. “And now for the first duet!” Spotlights ran over the packed bar and on landed on Grant, who looked up in shock. “We have our first singer! Up on stage, my man.” Grant tried protesting, but the crowd wasn’t listening and tugged him towards the beaming host.

 

* * *

 

 

By the bar, Skye’s mouth was hanging open so much it looked like she’d lost a hinge in her jaw.

Bobbi was equally shocked. “What the hell is Ward doing here?”

“Uh, probably _not_ to sing.” Skye started to say, but the second spotlight landed on her. “Oh no. No, no, no, no, no.”

“Look at that, man, we got you a beauty as a partner!” the host said into the microphone he was holding, either oblivious to both people’s discomfort, or just plain ignoring it. “Up you come, my lady!”

Skye had as much of a choice about getting to the stage as Grant did and within seconds she was standing next to him.

“Here you go guys.” The host (still beaming, Grant and Skye wondered if he had a face disorder), gave each of them a microphone and a stand. “Your song tonight is…!” he waited a moment for the random selector to finish. “ _Up_ by Olly Murs featuring Demi Lovato! Good luck!”

Skye and Grant at each other as though to say _Get this over with?_ Then the music started and Grant was enormously thankful for car radios and Kara’s love of pop music. _I’m not going to make such a big fool of myself._

“ _I drew a broken heart,_ ”Grant started singing softly, and Skye was pleasantly surprised.

 _Wow, he can sing!_ She thought.

“ _Right on your window pane,_ ” Grant suddenly realised that he hadn’t managed to fully bury his feelings for Skye, and singing this song with her made them rise to the surface, filling his voice with emotion. Maybe he could make Skye realise the same thing, too.

“ _Waited for your reply, here in the pouring rain.”_

Skye was somewhat shocked that Grant singing like this, with obvious emotion in his voice, made her feel so much happier than she had in…months. _Although_ , she thought, _my feelings for him were never straightforward._

“ _Just breathe against the glass, leave me some kind of sign._ ”

Skye started thinking that maybe, just maybe, Ward had changed from the almost mindless soldier that Garrett had created.

“ _I know the hurt won’t pass, yeah. Just tell me it’s not the end of the line._ ”

Skye took a deep breath as she prepared for her section of the song.

“ _Just tell me it’s not the end of the line._ ” Grant took a step back from the microphone. His hands were trembling and he clenched them to control the tremors.

 

* * *

 

 

Meanwhile, Kara had moved over to where Bobbi sat, cautiously watching her friend interact with the man she obviously still cared for.

“Ahem.” Kara made herself known to the blonde agent, who then eyed her suspiciously.

“You’re Agent 33, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose. Though being brainwashed by Hydra kind of puts a damper on that reputation.”

Bobbi nodded, intrigued. “Do you have a name?”

“Kara Palamas. Grant helped me find my file in the Hydra database.”

“Well, that was…nice of him.” Bobbi was somewhat confused. _Why would he help anyone who isn’t Skye?_

Kara was about to reply when she heard Skye start to sing.

 

* * *

 

 

“ _I never meant to break your heart,_ ” Skye started singing, and Grant let a smile creep work its way onto his face. He’d never heard her sing before, but it was like an angel.

“ _And I won’t let this plane go down._ ” Skye just tried focusing on singing the song, but couldn’t keep the happiness out of her voice.

“ _I never meant to make you cry. I’ll do what it takes to make this fly, oh!_ ”

Grant was still smiling when Skye looked over, and she grinned in return. Both their eyes were sparkling with joy and hope, and their friends across the room could see that the pair were still in love.

“ _You’ve gotta hold on, hold on to what you’re feeling._ ” Skye continued singing and Grant finally started to understand the lyrics of the song. _Choose love_.

“ _That feeling is the best thing, the best thing, alright!_ ” Skye was seeing the benefit being picked for this. She thanked whatever superior force it was that brought both her and Ward to this moment in time.

“ _I’m gonna place my bet on us. I know this love is heading, in the same direction…that’s up!_ ” Skye stepped back from the microphone this time and Grant stepped forward for his second verse.

“ _You drew a question mark,_ ” Grant was astonished at how well this song related to the situation between himself and Skye. “ _But you know what I want. I want to turn the clock, yeah. Right back to where it was._ ”

Skye stepped forward again to start singing with Grant instead of just in turns.

“ _So let’s build a bridge, yeah._ ” Several whoops and cheers were sounded when their voices harmonised. “ _From your side to mine._ ”

Bobbi and Kara merely exchanged looks during the song, knowing what the simple coincidence was doing for the tattered relationship between Ward and Skye.

“ _I’ll be the one to cross over. Just tell me it’s not the end of the line._ ” Grant and Skye were only looking away from each other at this point to check what the words were on the screen. “ _Just tell me it’s not the end of the line.”_

“ _I never meant to break your heart._ ” Skye sang the first bit of the chorus and her eyes locked with Grant’s. “ _And I won’t let this plane go down. I never meant to make you cry. I do what it takes to make this fly, oh!_ ”

The crowd watched adoringly, mesmerised by the magic happening up on stage.

“ _You’ve gotta hold on, hold on to what you’re feeling. That feeling is the best thing, the best thing, alright!_ ”

Grant knew, in that moment, that his love for Skye is something that can never be extinguished. And from that moment, he would fight to have her by his side. She was his star in the darkness that had swallowed most of his life, and he wanted more.

“ _I’m gonna place my bet on us! I know this love is heading, in the same direction…that’s up!”_

“ _Girl, I know, we could climb back to where were then. Feel it here, in my heart, put my heart in your hands.”_ Grant sang his lines before they sang together again.

“ _Well, I hope and I pray that you do understand. If you did, all you have to say is!”_

The crowd was moving to the beat, ecstatic grins on everyone’s faces, especially Bobbi and Kara’s.

“ _Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!”_

 _“I’m waiting for ya!”_ Grant sang.

“ _Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!”_

 _“Ohhh!”_ Skye sang out.

“ _I never meant to break your heart!”_ They sang together. “ _And I won’t let this plane go down!”_

 _“Let this plane go down!”_ Grant added while Skye sang, “ _I never meant to–”_

 _“Make you cry!”_ They synchronised perfectly and earned a few wolf-whistles from the crowd. “ _I’ll do what it takes to make this fly, oh!”_

Grant took over singing duties for the next line. “ _You’ve gotta hold on, hold on to what you’re feeling, that feeling is the best thing, the best thing, alright!”_

 _“I’m gonna place my bet on us!”_ Skye continued. “ _I know this love is heading, in the same direction…that’s up!”_  She finished the song with a flourish and the crowd went wild, Bobbi and Kara as loud as the rest. It took the host some time to get the noise levels down to a volume that he could be heard above.

“Do you two know each other?” he asked, pointing at the pair of them. They glanced at him.

“You have no idea!” Bobbi yelled from the bar, eliciting laughter from the patrons.

“Well, I’d say that was a pretty successful coupling! Gonna be hard to beat that, folks! But who wants to try?” Screams rent the air as people pushed forward, eager to be picked.

Grant took Skye’s hand as he led her off the stage and over to a more quiet corner where they could talk without having to shout.

 

* * *

 

 

“Well, that was unexpected.” Bobbi commented.

Kara laughed. “And to think that only a few minutes ago, I thought coming in here wasn’t a good idea.”

Something Kara said before Skye started singing rose to the forefront of Bobbi’s mind. “Hey, what was that you said about being brainwashed?”

“Um, well, I had no idea what to do after Coulson killed Dr. Whitehall. I went to find Ward, who was lying in a pool of his own blood and he offered to help me if I got him out of there.” She shrugged. “I helped him heal and he broke us into a Hydra facility and used my login to access the database. I found my file, and I’ve been remembering little bits about who I was beforehand ever since.”

Bobbi looked skeptical.

“Look, you be doubtful all you like. But the man who was with Garrett is long gone.” Kara said firmly. “Skye sees that now.”

“Then how do you know if he still loves her?”

“Because people are always changing. Some never truly love anyone but their first. No one really gets over their first. But people in love change and evolve with each other. Their fates,” she gestured to the couple in the corner, talking quietly. “Have been intertwined ever since they met.”

 

* * *

 

 

For a while, Skye couldn’t say anything. She was still overjoyed that Grant was still alive, but the longer she took to say something, the more agitated Grant became.

“Skye? Are you going to say anything?” he asked nervously.

“I-I’m so glad you’re still alive!” she managed to get out. Grant’s heart skipped a beat and hope blossomed in his chest. However, he still had to understand something.

“Did you try to kill me that day?”

Skye looked him in the eyes before answering. “No. I just couldn’t let you get tangled up in whatever mess was unfolding. If anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra came across you, you’d be shot on sight. I had to keep you there, so I shot you, but afterwards I was so freaked out that I’d killed you! How did you get out?”

“Kara.” Skye looked around and saw the woman in question talking with Bobbi and looking over at them.

“Agent 33?”

“Yeah. I found her file in the Hydra database, and she’s starting to fully remember who she was.”

Grant saw a flash of intense guilt cross her face and misunderstood. “Skye, if you’re worried whether or not I’m going to hold onto what you did to me, I need to ask you something.”

“What?”

“Do you still hold onto what I did?”

Skye held his gaze for a few moments before answering. “I wanted to. It seemed like a just excuse. But the anger vanished and I had to look at it from a different angle.”

Grant smiled and nodded. “So is this forgive or forget?”

“Forgive.” Skye said instantly. “I forgive you. You said I’d understand someday, and I do now.” She tentatively placed her hand on his cheek. “I love you.”

 She was terrified of revealing that to him, but the look he gave her when she did so laid all her fears to rest.

Dipping his head, he wound an arm around her waist and pulled her into a kiss. Feeling the most content than they had in months, they deepened the kiss. Skye melted into Grant’s embrace as his free hand came up to cradle her face.

When they pulled apart for air, Grant spoke. “I love you, too.”

Skye beamed with overwhelming happiness.

“And I forgive you. Let’s put all that behind us.”

Skye’s smile faltered.

“Skye?”

“I called you weak.” She whispered. He could hardly hear her. “But you’re stronger than anyone I’ve ever known.”

Grant smiled and softly kissed her. “Why were you in this bar, of all places? It’s doesn’t really seem like you.”

“Oh my god!” Skye exclaimed, pulling back a little. “I completely forgot about the mission!”

“Mission?”

“Apparently there’s supposed to be a Hydra agent here.”

Grant smirked. “You mean the one who surreptitiously glances over at you and Agent Morse every few minutes? He didn’t bolt, but he knows he can’t leave or you’ll notice him.”

“And where would this man be?” Skye narrowed her eyes playfully.

“Halfway between the bar and the stage. He was cheering for us while we were singing, to blend in, but I recognised him. Blond hair, red plaid shirt.”

Skye pulled Grant’s reflective aviators off the top of his shirt where they were hanging and made a show of playing with them. She was, however, using them to spy on the man Grant had described. True enough, the blond man with the red plaid shirt was glancing towards Bobbi.

“So how do we get him out?”

“If Kara hadn’t walked over to talk to Agent 117, we could have used her to draw him out.”

“Agent 117?”

“When I escaped, she was sitting on the first bus I got on. I’d noticed her outside and she was reading a book on page 117. She was still on that page on the bus, so I figured she was with Coulson.”

“Oh.”

Grant frowned. “Who was the cowboy?”

Skye burst out laughing. “Oh, man. Hunter’s never gonna live that down.” She laughed again.

“Well, what do you say to us getting out of here? We can beckon over Kara and 117–”

“Bobbi.”

Grant inclined his head. “Kara and Bobbi. Once he thinks we’re all gone, he’ll leave and we can get him just outside the door.”

“Okay.” Skye nodded, smiling. “Let’s go.” She kissed Grant again, took his hand and led him to the exit.

“Kara!” Grant called out, almost drowned out by the couple now singing on the stage. Thankfully she heard and both Skye and Grant beckoned the two women over before walking out.

 

* * *

 

 

“What are they doing?” Bobbi hissed as she and Kara followed the couple. “We’re here on a mission!”

Kara just shrugged. She didn’t know Bobbi well enough to guess her reaction to an unhelpful suggestion.

They found them just outside the building, kissing against the wall. Bobbi immediately strode over.

“Skye, as happy as I am for what happened, we have to focus!” she angrily said to the younger woman, breaking up the kiss as she did so.

“Grant recognised the guy we’re after. We left the bar to draw him out.”

This brought the blonde up short. “Oh.”

“You being angry as you saw us leave probably helped him think that he wasn’t discovered.” Grant spoke up. “You’re good at espionage, 117, but he was watching you. Any signals between you and Skye would have put him on edge.”

“117? That’s what you remember me as?”

“Relax, Bobbi. You’ll have a lot of fun teasing Hunter about his costume when we get back.” Skye said, laughter an undercurrent in her tone.

Grant chuckled. “How ironic is it that the cowboy’s name is Hunter?”

Bobbi muffled her burst of laughter with her hand. “He said to me, and I quote, ‘Subtlety is key.’ He’s in so much trouble.”

“Skye, you should video whatever happens. So any kids of theirs can laugh at it years later.” Kara put in with a smile.

Skye giggled. “Oh my god, I so should!”

“Skye.” Grant caught the young agent’s attention.

“Hmm?”

He signalled with his head towards the door, where the blond man in the red plaid was just leaving with another man in a suit. Skye made eye contact with Bobbi, and both drew their guns. Releasing Skye, Grant did the same, followed by Kara.

“Hail Hydra.” Bobbi said in a casual tone.

Both men turned around to find four guns aimed at their hearts.

“One wrong move, and we fire.” Bobbi continued conversationally.

 

* * *

 

 

_“We’re on our way.”_

“Okay, sweetie. See you then.” Bobbi smiled as she hung up. “Oh, it’s going to be so much fun when he gets here.”

“Skye, if S.H.I.E.L.D.’s coming here, I can’t stay.” Grant said quietly.

“What? No, I’ll tell them you helped! We can’t walk away from each other again!” Skye sounded so upset he almost agreed.

“All Coulson’s going to do is put me back in that cell. And May’s gonna back him up. They only give second chances if you weren’t ever associated with Hydra.” He said gently, containing the rage and fear he felt when he remembered that Skye would have to go back to S.H.I.E.L.D. without him.

“Well then I’ll go with you.”

Grant blinked. He was hoping for that outcome, but he didn’t expect her to offer it, let alone so soon. “Are you sure you want to? A life on the run isn’t fun.”

“Neither is a life without you. I love you, I don’t want to leave you!”

“We can switch places.” Kara offered. “My brainwashing’s wearing off, and perhaps Agent Simmons can get this damn mask off. I miss my own face.”

“Really?” Skye looked between Kara and Grant then threw herself into Kara’s arms. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Pulling away, she looked at Bobbi. “Can you explain? Coulson and May will only say I was emotionally compromised and it won’t change a thing.”

Bobbi looked unhappy but nodded. Skye had already laughed more times in the past 15 minutes than in the past few months. _Maybe Ward’s good for her._

“We need to go.” Grant said. Skye gave Bobbi one last hug, then took Grant’s hand and walked down the street.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Grant, I can wipe both Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s data on the pair of us and make whole new identities. We don’t have to literally be on the run.”

Grant smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Skye replied, happy with her decision for the first time in months.


	2. Familial Disappointment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mainly about the rest of the team finding out what happened, with Bobbi and Kara returning to The Playground at the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the update! It was cool seeing this story advertised on Tumblr :)  
> Great to see almost 200 hits on here!

**Chapter 2**

The five agents in Director Phillip Coulson’s office were speechless.

Not only had they not anticipated the traitor Grant Ward to show up at the bar with Agent 33 in tow, they never even imagined Skye leaving with him.

Finally, Coulson’s voice spluttered into existence. “What…wh…why?”

“What on earth does Skye think she’s doing?!” Melinda May spit out more coherently.

“I would have expected he showed up to manipulate her feelings for him.” Jemma Simmons said, heavily disappointed in her friend’s choices.

“Feelings?!” Sam Koenig angrily shouted. “Skye was the one who found my brother dead! At _his_ hand!” he gestured wildly at the screen on the wall.

“Skye’s always had feelings for Ward. They weren’t always positive, most of the time she found them rather confusing and chose to condemn him for his actions. Something he must have done, or said to her would have solidified her decision.”

“I should’ve known he would’ve shown up. We shouldn’t have let Skye go.” May said bitterly.

“This was her choice, May. She wanted back in the field, and this was only a low to medium risk op.” Coulson reasoned. “What I’m wanting to focus on is why Agent Morse just let them go.”

Billy Koenig had remained silent up until this point. “Either something she saw made her change her mind, or she and Skye had no other choice.” His voice was quiet, in a deceptively calm tone, but it held the attention of the other agents in the room.

“Are you saying you think Bobbi and Skye were held at some form of ‘gunpoint’?” May asked.

“I’m saying it’s a possibility. I never liked this guy, and it sounds like something he would do.”

“I’m wanting to agree that that is the outcome that has happened.” Simmons said. “However, considering that Skye and Ward were very obviously kissing directly before Bobbi and Agent 33 left the building that is the least likely option.”

Footsteps along the corridor outside got every agent’s attention. Two pairs, moving fast.

The door to Coulson’s office swung open to reveal a puffed and stuttering Fitz. “Sir…I uh…uh…found something in the, no on the…the web.”

Mack wasn’t far behind, but he gave the engineer his space.

“Mack, you, you…” Fitz doubled over, trying to catch his breath.

“Explain?”

Fitz nodded.

“Alright, well. I was showing Fitz some cool videos on YouTube, generally musical clips, stuff like that. Just looking for stuff to cheer him up a bit and sometimes they were funny.” He looked at Fitz and the Scot waved his hands to indicate _hurry up_.

“Yeah, anyway, we came across something recently uploaded.” He handed the tablet he was holding over to Sam, who hooked it up to the big screen.

“’Hot couple sing amazing duet in karaoke bar’?” Coulson asked. “What has this got to do with anything?”

“Just watch.” Fitz demanded.

The others blinked in surprise but said nothing as they sat, focusing on the monitor.

A loud cheering screeched through the speakers and the agents covered their ears as the Koenigs tried to get rid of the feedback.

“Sorry!” Billy said as he yanked down the volume. “The last caller was really quiet.”

“Just pause it til we fix the sound problem.” Sam muttered under his breath to his brother.

“Okay, okay! Sorry sir, you’re going to have to wait a moment.”

“There. Done, sir.”

“Good. Play it.” Coulson said. He was curious as to why Fitz freaked out over a musical YouTube video, but he had a hunch. And he didn’t like it.

Billy pressed play and the shakiness of the footage that commenced suggested it was filmed on a smartphone.

_“Up by Olly Murs featuring Demi Lovato! Good luck!” said one of the figures up on stage before he walked off to the side._

_The man and woman remaining looked at each other and then the music started._

The quality of the video dropped for a moment as the person recording zoomed in on the singers.

“Oh my god!” Simmons said loudly. She looked around at the rest of them. “Is that Ward and Skye?!”

They appeared as shocked as she was. Coulson was gaping like a fish out of water; the Koenigs and May had their mouths open slightly, fear and anger in their eyes; and Mack and Fitz just nodded knowingly.

_“I drew a broken heart.” The figure taken to be Ward started singing, accompanied by whoops from the full crowd in front of him. Skye’s reaction was one of surprise at how good he was. “Right on your window pane.”_

May and Simmons, desperate to find out why exactly Skye changed her mind about Ward, focused on the pair’s body language. At the moment, Skye was eying the man next to her like she wasn’t sure how to react to this new version and Ward’s expression was one of cautious realisation, like he didn’t want to give too much away in front of people he didn’t know.

_“Waited for your reply, here in the pouring rain.”_

The lyrics Ward was singing sounded pathetic to the Koenig’s ears, but Coulson heard the outpouring of emotion in the man’s voice. There was no weak desperation, only a desire for Skye to understand the depth of what he was feeling.

 _Perhaps he was finally building_ himself _up this time._ Coulson thought as he studied the tall man’s behaviour. He glanced at Skye, and the wariness that came with being this close to a known killer was there. But there was also a sort of joy in her stance, like she had hope for this.

_“Just breathe against the glass, leave me some kind of sign.” Ward looked at Skye, directly into her eyes. “I know the hurt won’t pass, yeah. Just tell me it’s not the end of the line.”_

_Skye faced the front again and took a deep breath as Ward finished his lines._

_“Just tell me it’s not the end of the line.” Ward stepped back as Skye stepped forward._

_“I never meant to break your heart.” She began._

The agents all flicked their eyes to watch Ward’s reaction, which was nothing but pure admiration as they saw a smile grace his face.

“She sure can sing.” Mack commented, impressed. The other merely nodded, wanting to hear more.

_“And I won’t let this plane go down.” The girl with the angel voice sang sweetly, happiness coating every tune. “I never meant to make you cry. I’ll do what it takes to make this fly, oh!” Skye looked over at Ward and they shared a smile. “You’ve gotta hold on, hold on to what you’re feeling. That feeling is the best thing, the best thing, alright!”_

May’s whole posture stiffened. She shared a look with Simmons, who evidently also recognised the turning point.

“Oh, Skye.” The scientist said sadly.

_“I’m gonna place my bet on us. I know this love is heading, in the same direction…that’s up!” Skye and Ward mirrored the other’s movements as they respectively stepped back from and towards their microphones._

_“You drew a question mark. But you know what I want.” He sang._

“Yeah, big surprise that one.” May muttered resentfully. Coulson raised an eyebrow at her in amusement.

_“I wanna turn the clock, yeah.”_

The Koenigs shared a look at this.

_“Right back to where it was.”_

Mack looked at Fitz. The engineer was staring at the screen as though he didn’t dare to hope.

_Skye stepped forward, but this time Ward didn’t move back._

_“So let’s build a bridge, yeah.” They sang together. “From your side to mine.” The crowd loved it, cheering at the perfect harmonisation. “I’ll be the one to cross over. Just tell me it’s not the end of the line.”_

May’s expression was souring by the second.

_“Just tell me it’s not the end of the line.”_

_Skye sang her next line straight away. “I never meant to break your heart.” She and Ward gazed into each other’s eyes. “And I won’t let this plane go down. I never meant to make you cry. I’ll do what it takes to make this fly, oh!”_

_The crowd, now quieter so as to hear the singing better, was swaying encouragingly with the music._

_“You’ve gotta hold on, hold on to what you’re feeling. That feeling is the best thing, the best thing, alright!”_

“Who knew a song could do so much?” Mack said quietly. The others heard him, however, and shot him annoyed looks. “What?”

_“I’m gonna place my bet on us! I know this love is heading, in the same direction…that’s up!”_

_“Girl, I know, we could climb back to where we were then. Feel it here, in my heart, put my heart in your hands.” Ward sang his part, placing his hand over his heart to emphasise how he felt._

_“Well I hope, and I pray that you do understand.” They sang together again. “If you did, all you have to say is! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!”_

_“I’m waiting for ya!” Ward sang, gripping the microphone._

_“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!”_

_“Ohhh!” this time, it was Skye who drew attention to herself._

_“I never meant to break your heart!”_

The sincerity in both of their voices astounded the audience they had in Coulson’s office.

_“And I won’t let this plane go down.” They were still singing in harmony._

_The next lines, although different for each participant, were sang at the same time._

_“Let this plane go down!” Ward sang._

_“I never meant to–” Skye sang._

_“Make you cry!” they joined their vocals once more. “I’ll do what it takes to make this fly, oh!”_

_Ward focused on his last set of lyrics. “You’ve gotta hold on, hold on to what you’re feeling. That feeling is the best thing, the best thing, alright!”_

_“I’m gonna place my bet on us! I know this love is heading, in the same direction…that’s up!” Skye finished, and the last note of the music were completely drowned out by the tremendous support of the patrons and guests of the bar. Not that the pair on stage would have noticed._

_The camera suddenly zoomed out again, taking in the full scope of the atmosphere in the room._

_The host finally managed to make himself be heard. “Do you two know each other?” he asked, turning to them. They glanced at him, then back to each other._

_“You have no idea!” a familiar female voice shouted from the edges of the screen._

“ _Bobbi?!_ ” the women asked, dumbfounded, as the patrons in the bar all laughed.

“Why is she going along with it?” Simmons shrieked.

The video ended and the cheering was instantly cut off.

Mack rubbed the bit of skin before his ears. “Remind me never to go to a karaoke bar.” He said to no one in particular.

“Fitz, did you know what happened exactly? Is there anything in there that you didn’t notice the first time?” Coulson asked the engineer, standing up and walking calmly over to him.

“That _was_ the first time.” Fitz said. “As-as soon as I realised who it was, I-I…I ran straight here.”

“I didn’t realise that it was part of the mission you gave the girls, Coulson.” Mack interjected. “Weren’t they supposed to apprehend a certain Hydra agent? Getting up there to sing would have blown their cover and with the size of the crowd, made it easier to escape.”

“I don’t think so.” May said analytically. Her anger at the situation was there, but pushed down by reasoning and logic. “Only Skye was up on stage with Ward, so Bobbi would have been kept in the back. The bar is a good vantage point, and she would’ve been looking for anyone trying to sneak away. Plus, from what I could see, Agent 33 was standing next to her. _Still_ with my face…but she’s also a trained specialist. One of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s best.”

“And from the CCTV footage, both Agent 33 and Bobbi are on their way here with the Hydra agent. We can ask them all questions when they arrive.” Coulson added. “And until May and I get the answers, the rest of you can have the night off. There’s no point looking electronically for Ward and Skye.”

There was a chorus of “Yes, sir.” As Simmons, Mack, Fitz and the Koenigs filed out of the office.

 

* * *

 

 

“You know, as shocked as I am at the events of tonight, it’ll be nothing compared to Coulson and May.” Lance Hunter said, directing his words to the women beside him as he drove back to the base.

Bobbi and Kara had explained what had happened when Hunter turned up with the SUV, confused at the change of agents.

“I know. No doubt, they’ll already know that Skye’s gone with Ward and will be waiting for us at the entrance demanding answers.” Bobbi replied.

“Sounds like this new S.H.I.E.L.D. is one to hold a grudge.” Kara muttered.

“Wait til you meet Agent May.” Hunter put in. “You know, without trying to kill each other.” He shuddered. “I asked Coulson if she was one to hold a grudge after I ICED her, and he said she ‘savours it, actually’.”

“Why’d you ICE The Cavalry? Was she trying to kill you?”

“I was trying to get revenge on Carl Creel for Hartley and Idaho’s deaths.” He replied after a pause. He sounded bitter, and even Bobbi had gone silent and reserved.

“I didn’t mean to pry.”

“You didn’t.” Bobbi quickly reassured her. “But what do you mean ‘hold a grudge’?”

“You all had Ward locked in a vault for months before shipping him off to his childhood abuser all because he was misguided by a madman.” Kara didn’t look at them as she said this, and underlying anger at what S.H.I.E.L.D. had become was evident in her tone.

“Wait, so he wasn’t kidding when he said that the senator threw his brother into a well?” Hunter asked, as shocked as Bobbi. “I thought that was a ruse to get Skye to pity him.”

“It wasn’t. He showed me the well in his parents’ old estate, and had me listen to the conversation he had with his brother before he burned down the house.”

“And killed his family.” Bobbi added.

Kara just shook her head. Bobbi turned hers to stare at the May look-a-like.

“They’re not dead?”

“Nope.”

“Well, where are they? What was the point in burning the house down? And what about the bodies?” Bobbi reeled off, skeptical.

“They’re hidden. It was to get into Hydra and help Cal and Skye. And the bodies were the bodyguards and a Hydra sleeper agent, hiding as the housekeeper. The bodies were only identified by the possessions they had on them, and not through DNA. Too much damage for that.”

“Huh.”

“So…do you have any idea where Ward and Skye will go?” Hunter asked uncertainly.

“Nope. Could be anywhere. And from what Grant’s told me about Skye, it sounds like you’re not going to find them unless they want to be found.”

“Ohh, Coulson’s going to be _so_ pleased…”


	3. Takeout

“Oh my god, it’s been ages since I’ve slept in a double bed!” Skye exclaimed as she flopped onto the said piece of furniture on her back.

Grant just smirked, looking over at Skye as she closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. “When was the last time?”

“Um…” the woman frowned and pushed herself up to lean back on her elbows, opening her eyes again. “Dublin? Yeah, Dublin.”

Grant nodded and focused on the takeout menu in his hand.

“What are you doing?” Skye asked as she let her back hit the bed again.

“Ordering takeout.”

Skye sat up so quickly, the bed squeaked beneath her.

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” she said innocently.

He looked back over at her with an unimpressed expression. “You know what.”

The corners of her mouth curved up mischievously, getting Grant’s attention. Skye, noticing her advantage with his distraction, rose and walked over seductively.

Grant’s breath hitched. “Skye…” he almost growled.

“Yes, Agent Ward?”

“What are you doing? We need to eat.” His reasons seemed to slip away and lose all semblance of logic as she got closer.

“And does Mr. Health Nut consider consuming deep fried junk to be eating?” Skye said huskily, never breaking eye contact as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He hummed in reply as his arms wound their way around her waist, dropping the menu onto the floor.

“Answer me, Grant.” Her low voice was almost sing-song-like and she ghosted her lips across his.

“If it’s the best we can get right now.” Grant reached for a kiss, but only managed to get a peck.

“Spoken like a true specialist.” She murmured before granting Grant the kiss he desired and melted into his embrace. Back and forth they pushed against each other, relishing at the opportunity to finally succumb to their intense desires. When they finally parted for breath, it wasn’t long before another type of hunger made itself known. They both looked down as Grant’s stomach rumbled loudly.

“When was the last time you ate, Grant?” Skye asked disapprovingly as she looked back up.

“Ahhmm…yesterday morning?” he grimaced at the look of shock on her face.

“What _._ ”

“I was trying to save what little money we had until I reached my next drop box.”

“You went to a bar, Grant! Didn’t you think to eat beforehand?”

“They serve food there! It’s karaoke!” Grant tried to weasel his way out of Skye’s dog box.

She just shook her head and stepped back, swiping the menu off of the floor.

“How much money do you have now?”

“About twenty thousand.”

Skye froze and looked up. “Twenty thousand. Dollars. In cash?”

“Yes.”

Skye sighed and looked back at the menu. “Fried rice. Burger?” she looked back up to catch a look of disgust. “It’s got meat and rabbit food. Suck it up.”

Grant let out a long, dramatic sigh. Skye looked up at him in a weirded-out surprise.

“Fine. Just this once.”

“Really? Are we going to go grocery shopping while we’re, _technically_ , on the run?”

“Are you gonna get the food or not?”

“Gimme twenty minutes.” Skye was out the door with a peck on the lips and a handful of cash.

“What…where did she…? Oh.” He checked his pocket. “She’s good.” He said with admiration.

 

Skye whistled happily as she walked into the takeout store. “Hi, I’d like to order some fried rice and a couple of burgers, please.” She smiled at the boy behind the counter.

“Sure. What kind of fried rice would you like? Egg, steak, chicken, pork?”

“Egg’ll be fine.”

“And the burgers?”

“Uhh…the biggest you got.”

“Thank you.” He punched in some keys on the old cash register and the total came up on the dash facing Skye. “That’ll be thirteen dollars.”

Even though Skye had never paid so much money for such cheap food, she smiled as she handed over a twenty.

“That will take ten minutes.” The boy said as he gave her back her change.

“Thank you.” Skye smiled again and walked out for some much needed fresh air. “Yeesh, it’s sweltering in there.” She muttered to herself. On trained instinct, she glanced around at the almost deserted street and wandered towards the left.

After a few minutes, she developed the creepy, prickly feeling on the back of her neck. Slowing to a halt, she leaned against the lamppost, the light flickering ominously. Through her peripheral vision, she saw two darkly dressed men walking her way.

“Not the usual Hydra suits.” She said quietly to herself, then bolted down the side street. Pushing her speed to the limits, she rounded the corner behind the line of shops before jumping the fence of the resident’s property behind that. Weaving her way across the darkened lawn, she rolled behind the outdoor set of table and chairs and remained absolutely still.

The sound of racing footsteps slowed as they too rounded the back of the shop. They walked a little further than the property Skye was on and stopped.

“Skye…” one of them sang, sickening Skye’s stomach. But she didn’t move, hoping they’d walk away. “We know you’re here, darling girl.”

 _Do they_ have _to pick the ones with obvious perversion?_ Skye wondered.

“So come out, come out, wherever you are.” Their voices lowered as they discussed between themselves where she could have gone.

“If you’re in the ground, you bitch, we have a proposition for you.” The other man spoke this time, his voice deeper.

 _Why would they think I was in the ground? Shit. They know what I can do._ Skye started to panic before an idea came to her.

“So listen up, you mutant freak. I will give you to the count of ten to show yourself, or I will start blowing up the pretty houses around here. I bet some of them have pretty little children in them, too. One.” He counted two seconds in between each number. “Two.”

 _Son of a bitch._ Creeping around the back of the table, she was careful to move slowly so as to not set off the motion sensor lights and to avoid detection by the Hydra goons on the driveway in front of her. Once she was clear of the patio, Skye sprawled out over the ground, lying flat on her belly.

“Six.”

 _I feel like a lizard._ She thought as she crept her way across the lawn to get a good look at the men. While her right arm was stretched out in front of her, she checked the time. _My food should be ready by now. I need to hurry this up._ She crawled to the fence line and checked the men weren’t looking her way before standing up and channelling her ability. The ground around the men started to shake.

“And ten. I wondered if you thought we were bluffing.”

“And I wondered how you thought I was in the ground.” Skye finally made her presence known and as the goons spun around to face her, she placed a crack in the ground. Right beneath their feet. The looks of sudden fear on their faces was satisfactory, until they aimed their guns at her. “Ah, ah, ah. None of that.” She scolded and opened the crack.

The pair screamed in terror as they fell into the hole but stopped short of their heads, their arms waving above them, almost like they were surrendering. Jumping down onto the driveway, Skye marched straight over to them and snatched the guns out of their hands like they were children’s toys.

“I might need these, thanks.” Skye smiled brightly as she walked away, letting the men drop into the ground completely.

 

“Honey, I’m home!” Skye said sarcastically as she waltzed into the motel room and dumped the food on the small table.

Grant laughed. “It’s nice to see you like this.” He said walking over and gave her a hug, kissing her sweetly as he did so.

“It’s nice to be like this.” Skye replied, hoping Grant wouldn’t notice the guns stashed in the back of her jeans. No such luck though.

Grant let his hands trail down Skye’s back and froze when he reached the handles of two pistols tucked into her waist line. He pulled them out and looked at Skye, demanding answers.

“Hydra showed up as I was waiting for the takeout. I ran and hid, but they knew I wasn’t far.”

“Did they hurt you?” Grant asked, trying to keep his worry at a minimum as he checked her body for injuries.

“No, no. The only time they got close enough to touch me was when I took their guns off of them.” She shrugged. “They were kind of buried in the ground somewhat.”

Grant just looked at her confused.

“San Juan. Long story.”

He nodded. “Right…anything else?”

“They know what I can do.” She whispered fearfully.

“Well, unless you are _trying_ to be annoying with your cryptic statements, I suggest you tell me everything.”

Skye sighed. “Okay, turbo. But after we’ve eaten, alright?”

“No, we can’t stay that long. As soon as we’ve eaten, we’re leaving. Hydra will be searching the area now that they know we’re here.”

“I’m not sure that they know _you’re_ here.”

“Come again?”

“They only saw me. And I…kind of buried them.”

Grant looked completely confused, and a little angry. “You’re really going to have to explain what the hell’s going on.”

 

The van pulled to a stop in the garage of The Playground, and the first thing the occupants noticed was that the Director and his Deputy were waiting for them with blank stares.

“What did I say about Coulson being pleased?” Hunter cut through the silence that settled upon the vehicle.

“Just because he’s Director, doesn’t mean his every whim has to be seen to.” Kara said roughly.

Hunter and Bobbi shared a look.

“I think I might just be looking forward to this confrontation.” He said thoughtfully.

“Let’s just get it over with.” Bobbi muttered, and made shooing motions at Hunter while Kara slid out the other side.

“Agent Morse! Would you care to explain why you just _let_ Skye walk away with _Grant Ward_ of all people?” Coulson demanded as strode forward.

May followed suit. “Were you forced to?”

“No, Agent May. It was Skye’s choice.” Bobbi replied, standing to attention.

The shock on their faces almost made Bobbi crack a smile. Almost.

“Care to explain that?”

“I would, but perhaps somewhere more private?”

Coulson studied her soldier’s expression carefully before nodding. “Where’s the target?”

“Back of the van.” Hunter interjected, not wanting to be left out. He cringed as May turned her glare onto him.

Coulson finally took obvious notice of the fifth member of the party, something which didn’t go unnoticed by the former S.H.I.E.L.D. specialist.

“Agent 33. It’ nice to finally see you again, even with–”

“Don’t bother with the pleasantries, _Director_ Coulson.” Kara interrupted. “I’m only here for Skye.”

Hunter smirked and Bobbi shot him a warning look.

May stepped forward menacingly. “Careful how you speak to him. He’s in charge of everyone in this base.”

“Well, everyone except _me_. Or did you think I hadn’t considered what I was walking into, Agent May?” Kara crossed her arms defiantly. Like hell she was backing down from this.

“Enough.” Coulson said tiredly, and beckoned them along before turning and heading to his office.

 

“Okay, well, um.” Skye stumbled over her words as she tried to explain, in the best way, ‘what the hell’s going on’.

“Shall we start eating first?” Grant offered, sitting down and pulling out one of the burgers. He pulled a face at the dripping sauce.

Skye sat down across from him. “I got the biggest that they had, so be a little more grateful, Mr. Health Nut.” She said as she pulled out the other burger and used its paper bag as a plate.

“This is so unhealthy.” Grant muttered and bit into the stack. He moaned at how good it tasted.

Skye’s face lit up. “What was that, Grant? Do you like it?” she leaned forward eagerly.

Grant tried to look like he opposed that statement but couldn’t stop the smile from stretching across his face.

“You _doooo_.” Skye punched the air triumphantly. Grinning, she took a bite of her own.

Grant swallowed and felt like he had to make a point. “We won’t be having this often.”

Her mouth still full of food, Skye straightened her back and saluted him, a mock serious expression on her face. Grant just snorted and went back to his meal.

When they had finished their burgers and had moved onto the fried rice, Grant restarted the conversation about recent events.

Skye sighed. “Like I said, it’s a long story.”

“Well, I’ve got time. Try to start it from a point that I know about.”

“Okay. Well, you took me to that theatre because my father was there, and that was because of what he was trying to do for me.” She looked up at him briefly and Grant nodded encouragingly. “Then S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived and thankfully stopped Whitehall before he could do anything to me.”

“They follow Raina’s tracker?”

Skye frowned. “No. Bobbi had a contact in San Juan that sold out Hydra.” She blinked. “Were you supposed to remove Raina’s tracker?”

“Yes. And I told Whitehall that I had.”

Skye’s delighted smile made Grant’s breath hitch. “Anyway, um, after…what happened…I tried to find anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D. and/or stop Raina, if I could.” She stopped and took a deep breath, keeping her gaze downward. Grant stretched his arm out and placed his hand over hers comfortingly. “I found Whitehall’s body with Kara kneeling by him, so I looped around and found my dad beating up Coulson.”

“Not the best way to express your anger.”

Skye smiled. “Huh. You’ve learned.” she said.

“So I’m assuming you stopped said beating?”

Skye nodded. “Yeah, but he didn’t stop hitting Coulson’s face until I called him ‘dad’. Had to move him away at gunpoint.” She sounded so miserable Grant stood up and pulled her into a hug.

“Hey. He moved, yeah?” she nodded. “Then what happened?”

She sucked in a shaky breath. “He told me that I would change, and when I did, no one would look at me the same way. Except him.” She pulled back a little and looked into Grant’s eyes. “He said ‘Change is terrifying.’ And he was right.” Her voice broke near the end and Grant pulled her back into his arms more snugly.

“Bobbi didn’t seem that afraid of you.”

“Well, she’d been drinking.” Skye half-laughed. “And most of the time she pretends it never happened. I don’t know if it’s any better, though.”

Grant frowned. “She was drinking on a mission?”

Skye pulled back again. “Well, I was singing on a mission, so…not sure if I have any room for criticism.”

Grant chuckled, gazing at Skye adoringly. Skye couldn’t help feeling warm and fuzzy all over.

But she had to finish and tell Grant just what it was exactly he was getting himself into. “I followed Raina down into the tunnels, but the Obelisk activated as I got there. The walls closed in and Trip managed to squeeze in before they shut.”

“Trip?”

Skye nodded. “Yeah, he’d just un-detonated the bombs he’d laid in the tunnels to stop what we _thought_ was an Armageddon. He saved so many lives that day.”

Grant just waited patiently, concern etched all over his face, and rubbed her back soothingly.

Skye spoke again, determined to get this off her chest. “The Obelisk opened and crystals grew out of it. Then some sort of mist blast came from it. Raina and I were cocooned in…I don’t know what it was. Some sort of liquid rock substance. Trip was untouched, and the last I saw of him, he was kicking the crystals. And when I…” she was holding back tears now. “When I burst from the shell, he was stone!” Tears now streamed down her cheeks and Grant hugged her tightly, feeling her trembling in his arms. “Then he crumbled…I killed him.” Her voice was muffled by his chest.

Grant thoughts were a jumbled mess, but he focused on the most important one.

“Skye, look at me.”

Sniffing, she raised her head.

“Why do you think you killed him?”

“Because I broke my cocoon with a seismic blast, and that hit his body.”

“Skye, the Obelisk doesn’t kill by turning people to dust. It just turns them to stone. You didn’t kill him.”

“But he followed me down there! He told me that he came to get me!”

“Sweetheart, switch the roles around. Would you have done the same thing he did? Knowing the exact same things he did?” Though it terrified him to even consider Skye dying, Grant knew that he had to put her mind at ease over the matter.

Skye’s gaze fluttered down as she considered the potential happenings. Slowly, she nodded. “Yeah, I probably would have…” she muttered.

“And so would I. Trip died a hero, as much of a hero as he was when he was alive. You said yourself, he saved many lives that day.”

Skye wiped away her tears and smiled a watery smile at him. “Thank you, Grant.”

The man’s brows furrowed. “Did no one else say this to you?”

“No, I, uh…didn’t tell them.” She whispered, half-hoping he couldn’t hear. As if.

“You kept this to yourself since San Juan? Skye, how are you supposed to move forward if you don’t talk about it?”

Skye looked up, faint amusement in her eyes. “Says the man who never talked about his childhood.” She teased.

Though it was a sensitive subject for him, Skye already seemed to be healing from her grief. So Grant just smiled and kissed her.


	4. The Next Morning

Morning found Grant and Skye wrapped around each other in bed. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, the curtains seemingly forgotten last night. Grant blinked and slowly the room around him came into focus.

Glancing to his side he saw Skye, her head resting on his shoulder, her left arm stretched across his bare abs and her right arm curled up between their bodies. She was still wearing a tank top and lifting the covers, he could see that she had also kept her underwear on.

Smiling at Skye’s sleeping form, Grant thought about what had happened last night, about what had strengthened their relationship with each other.

_Skye moaned into his mouth, her arms snaking around his neck as she pressed herself to him. Swaying a little, she manoeuvred him backwards to the bed. Smiling into the kiss, Grant turned them around, lifted her up and laid her gently on the covers, holding himself above her._

_Neither of them pushed the other for anything more. They were just grateful that they were finally giving each other the chance that they both needed to move forward. Grant kept his hands on her waist, only moving them to rub up and down her sides. Skye kept her hands linked around his neck, relishing in the opportunity to hold him._

_They finally parted for more than a gasping breath and pressed their foreheads against each other. Opening her eyes, Skye found Grant already gazing at her._

_She ran her palm down the side of his face. “I love you.”_

_“I love you.” Grant replied huskily._

_They remained like that for several minutes, their joy unable to be surpassed by anything else._

_However, Grant’s survival instincts kicked in. “We have to go.” He said quietly._

_“No we don’t.” Skye murmured back, stubborn._

_“Skye, Hydra’s still out there.”_

_“And once they’ve made a move, won’t they expect us, or_ me _, to bolt?”_

_Grant contemplated her words, but before he could make a comment on them, Skye continued._

_“And at any rate, the only way Hydra will know for sure if I’m in this area, will be if the two goons I buried were on comms the whole time they were following me.”_

_Grant nodded slowly. “You buried them?”_

_“I opened up the ground beneath them. They moved, but it was sort of downward.”_

_“Huh.”_

_“_ So _, my point is that we have some time here to get some rest before Hydra chases us across the country. If May and Coulson are going to be stubborn, we can add S.H.I.E.L.D. to the mix.”_

_Grant nodded and rolled to the side. “Well, if we’re going to stay the night, we should probably save some of that rice for breakfast.” He got up and moved to the table._

_Skye sat up and began discarding her clothes, removing all but her tank top and panties and piling the rest in a neat stack on the floor. Grant could hear the rustling as she pulled off item after item of clothing and fought to focus on putting the rice in the miniature fridge. Smirking to himself, because_ ‘two can play at that game, Skye’ _, he pulled off his jacket._

_Waiting until he pulled off his shirt before turning around, Grant caught the darkened look in Skye’s eyes and smiled darkly. Tossing his shirt and jacket aside, he stalked forward, determined to tease the woman he loved._

_“Grant, where are you going with this?” Skye said warily, but the mischievous glint in her eye told Grant that she wouldn’t really mind if they went that far. Smirking, he undid his belt._

_“I’m just getting ready for bed. Jeans aren’t that comfortable to sleep in.”_

_Skye grinned. “I’ll bet.”_

_Grant let out a chuckle that burned through Skye like a drug. The man in question seemed oblivious to how he had just affected her and pushed down his pants in one swift motion. His shoes and socks followed. Throwing them to the same spot as the rest of his clothes, he pulled back the covers on the bed._

_“Oof!” Skye laughed as the duvet and sheet were yanked out from under her, causing her to land softly on her back on the bed. Grant crawled in next to her and flicked the covers back on top._

_“Now, considering I’m only in my underwear, shouldn’t you only be in yours?” he teased, grinning down at Skye._

_“Easy there, tiger.” she giggled, and pulled Grant down for a kiss. He wrapped his right arm around her waist and happily complied, slipping his tongue between her lips._

_They pulled apart after a few moments and settled for cuddling._

_“Goodnight, Skye.”_

_“G’night, Grant.”_

“Grant?” a sleepy voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“Morning, Skye.” He smiled at the woman who grinned sleepily back. “You up for some potential law breaking today?”

“Haha, maybe…” she trailed off with a yawn. When she looked back at Grant, the man was gazing at her intensely. “What?”

“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” he asked softly.

“Well of course. I have a rocking body.” She replied cheekily and even shimmied her hips to emphasise it.

“I don’t just mean your body. You’re beautiful. Everywhere.” His eyes were gazing so deeply into her own, Skye felt the truth of his words in her bones.

“Yeah, I know.” She breathed. She leaned forward and kissed him fiercely, her body sliding on top of Grant’s. He slid his hands up and down her back, before tentatively sliding them over her backside and squeezing her cheeks. Skye broke off with a giggle.

“As much as I’d love to, honey, we have to get going.”

“Mmm.” Was Grant’s reply as he sat up and reclaimed her lips with his own.

Skye pulled away again. “Grant, I’m serious. And hungry. So come on.” She pushed his hands off of her butt cheeks and moved to her clothes, donning her jeggings first. Grant just sat back against the headboard and watched her, smiling.

Skye looked over after she pulled off her tank top. “What are you doing?”

“Admiring the view.”

Skye huffed in amusement and picked up her bra, hooking it around herself before pulling the straps onto her shoulders. Grabbing her tank top and the over-singlet she wore to fit in with the crowd, she turned to Grant. “Should I wear both, or just the French one?”

Grant considered it. The ‘French’ top she referred to was white, said BONJOUR over three lines, and would look good on her whether she wore it by itself or not. But it was quite airy, and knowing what most men would do upon noticing her prompted his response. “Wear them both. We can’t really afford to be ogled at.”

“True…” Skye bit her lip as she glanced between both items of clothing. She shrugged and pulled both on. “Come on, get dressed.” She said as she made her way to the fridge.

Grant hauled his body off the bed and gracefully made his way over to his clothes.

“They have a microwave in the kitchen, right?” Skye asked as she closed the fridge door, the container of fried rice in her hand.

“Yeah, should do.”

“Kay. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She headed for the door.

“Skye, wait.” Grant said as he zipped up his jeans. “Last time you went off on your own, Hydra found you.”

“And they’re probably dead by now.”

“Well, it’s not like they didn’t know what you’re capable of.”

Skye flinched.

“I wasn’t trying to be cruel, Skye. Your abilities make you more of a target.” He pulled his shirt over his head and picked up his jacket. “I’d never forgive myself if I let you wander off on your own and got killed or captured. And I doubt the team would, either.”

“Only ‘cause _they_ wouldn’t be able to use me as a weapon.” Skye mumbled bitterly.

“No, Skye.” Grant said softly, and sighed. “Look, put your shoes on and we can go down together. Then we can just check out and go.” He moved closer and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. She looked up. “Okay?”

“Okay.” She almost whispered and gave the rice to him. Walking over to the end of the bed, she slipped on the red heels she’d worn to the bar last night.

“You have a thing with colour co-ordination, don’t you?” Grant queried as he noticed the red of the heels matched the red of the writing on Skye’s shirt.

“Mhm. Now all we need for you is a red belt.” She replied quickly, earning a snort in response.

“Red means danger.”

“Does it now?” Skye looked up as she stood and waggled her eyebrows. “Is that why I suggested a belt?”

Grant sniggered. “Come on.” He said, striding towards the door.

Skye laughed quietly to herself and followed.

 

“Hey, Fitz. What you up to?”

Fitz glanced up from the screen he was looking at rather guiltily and relaxed when he realised it was Mack.

“Something you don’t want other people to know about?”

Simmons, who was standing a few feet away behind shelves of lab equipment and chemicals made herself known to try and keep Fitz out of trouble. “He’s trying to play back what he recorded from Coulson’s office last night.”

“With Bobbi and Kara? How’d you get that?”

“I stuck a camera in one of the corners of Coulson’s office. I couldn’t get it to…live stream. But I uh…got everything.” Fitz answered.

“Well, are you sure you wanna play it here? It’s kind of open and anyone can walk in.” Mack said, gesturing round at the large lab.

“What about one of our rooms?” Simmons asked after a moment.

“No, they’d get suspicious if all three of us went into one of our bunks.” Fitz countered.

“How about the garage?” was Mack’s next suggestion.

“That’s…pretty open as well.” Simmons replied, worried that Mack wasn’t really helping the situation.

“Yeah, but I often watch the news on one of the screens there, so no one should think it’s out of the ordinary. As long as we keep the volume down, we should be fine.”

“That…could work.” Fitz said thoughtfully, looking at Simmons who nodded with a smile on her face.

“Well, alright then. I’ll take the camera’s memory stick and you two can get some popcorn.” He picked up the items and headed towards the door.

The scientists laughed. “We just had breakfast.” Simmons pointed out.

“Yeah, and I-I don’t think I could stomach anything while watching it, if the tension of Coulson and May are anything to go by.” Fitz said.

Simmons nodded, her humour gone. Then, with the awkwardness returning, she hurried out of the room.

Fitz sighed and leaned his head on his arms on the table. He’d hoped that after the events of San Juan he and Simmons could start being more than ex-best friends. But with Trip’s death and Skye’s change, that dream went down the drain. _Damn you, Ward. You caused this._ Straightening up, he closed the laptop and headed towards the garage.

He was almost at the hangar door when he heard a familiar voice calling his name. Turning, he saw May walking hurriedly towards him.

“Fitz, Coulson wants you in his office. Now.”

“I was…why?” Fitz started to wave his hand in the direction of the garage but curiosity overwhelmed him.

“Both he and Agent Palamas want to talk to you.” May stopped in front of him, her behaviour screaming impatience.

“Pala…Agent 33?” Fitz clicked quickly and May noticed, little sparks of hope and pride showing in her eyes.

She nodded. “Were you going somewhere?”

“Yeah, I was heading to the-the garage. With Mack.”

“I’ll let him know you’ll be a while.” She moved off without waiting for a reply.

“I-I…oh never mind.” Fitz grumbled and trooped back the way he came.

 

“Mack!” May got the mechanic’s attention and noticed that Simmons was standing next to him. _Why is she here?_ she thought as the pair stopped their conversation.

“Hey, Agent May. What brings you here? Someone break an SUV?” Mack said, bringing down the window displaying the inside of Coulson’s office.

“Coulson and Agent Palamas want to talk to Fitz.”

“He was just on his way here.”

“I know. I’ve already sent him. He told me was meeting up with you and I said I’d let you know that he’ll be a while.”

“Oh. Well, thanks.”

May nodded and started to leave when a thought occurred to her and she turned back. “Simmons, why are you here? Aren’t you usually in the lab or on the treadmill at this time of the morning?”

Simmons used all the experience she had with lying when undercover to come up with an excuse. “I was just asking Mack a question. About how he hopes to help Fitz and to see if there was any way I could be of assistance.”

May nodded again, picking up on the subtleties of the lie, but covering it up. “He seems to be doing well. When I told him the Coulson and Palamas wanted to see him, he realised in a heartbeat that I was talking about Agent 33. Didn’t even stutter.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Simmons exclaimed, her face lighting up. “I told him he just needed some time to get better.” Mack looked just as delighted. “Thank you for telling us this, May. Do…do you think Fitz noticed?”

“If he did, he didn’t show it. I’ll leave you to it.” May nodded at them both and left.

“How long do you think he’ll be?” Simmons turned to Mack.

The mechanic shrugged. “You know Coulson better than I do, but neither of us have met Agent Palamas.” He breathed in, and let out a loud sigh. “Look, I wouldn’t worry about it. Palamas seems to have gone easy on Ward, so understanding what Fitz went through will most certainly affect how she treats him. She only worked for Hydra when brainwashed, right?”

Simmons nodded. “Yeah. Or rather, for Whitehall.”

“And he’s dead. As far as we know, Palamas hasn’t gone back to any Hydra organisation since San Juan.”

“Except Ward.” she said bitterly.

“He’s not an organisation.” Mack pointed out. “Just a lone wolf.” He moved away to open a case.

Simmons glanced away, once again reminded of how petty she was being about the situation. However, she didn’t want to do much about righting that. “Not so ‘lone’ anymore. He had Palamas for a few months and now he has Skye. And I’m not entirely convinced that Ward was being honest with her.”

Mack, spanner in hand, looked over at her. “When was the last time he lied?”

She scoffed. “Probably yesterday.”

“That you could _prove_.” Mack said calmly. He was getting annoyed with how stubborn Simmons was being, but he felt confident that he could work through that.

“Um…when he told us that Hydra didn’t get their hands on the hard drive. And he was Hydra all along.”

“I’m not so sure that’s true.” He said lightly.

“What?” Simmons looked thoroughly confused.

“I don’t think he was ever truly Hydra.”

“Of course he was! Why else would he do all those horrible things?!” She was angry that Mack had even considered the possibility that there was more to it than simple evil.

“Was Garrett? Fitz told me that the bastard said, and I quote, ‘Well, I wouldn’t say I’m a true believer’. If he wasn’t, and he heavily influenced Ward, logic would suggest that Ward wasn’t either.”

Simmons blinked.

“Come on, Simmons. Are you telling me that you never once thought to look at this from another perspective? You’re a scientist. You study all variables and explore every angle before you come to a solid conclusion. Or does that only apply to chemicals and strategies?” Some of his anger seemed to be seeping out, and he took a deep breath to calm himself.

“I was so angry.” Simmons said quietly. “He threw Fitz and I into the ocean when we refused to leave the medical pod. Said he ‘had his orders’.”

Mack looked carefully at her, noticing the change in her body language. She was no longer tense and defensive, but rather deflated and sorrowful. “Garret was the one he took orders from, as far as I know. Am I right?”

Simmons nodded absently.

“And how many other Hydra agents were on the plane?”

“Several.”

“Several other men who didn’t know you, who would have shot you without a second thought, simply because Garrett ordered it. Deathlok was on the plane, too, wasn’t he?”

Again, she nodded.

“And with that Centipede serum in his body, coupled with the cyborg shit strapped onto him…he would’ve made short work of that pod door.”

Simmons gaped at him, lost for words.

“So it sounds to me,” Mack said as he sat down on a nearby stool. “That ejecting you out of the plane as quickly as he did, _actually did_ save your lives. Even if it had unfortunate consequences.”

“Into the ocean! We _sank_!”

“The plane was in vertical flight mode, yeah?” Simmons nodded. “So the fall itself wouldn’t have been too dangerous. As for the sinking problem, it was a med pod on a plane. Not a submarine.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. med pods are compatible with all transport craft.” she recited tiredly.

“And what use is a med pod at the bottom of the ocean? Think about it, Simmons. Did _you_ expect the pod to sink?”

“No.” she replied in a small voice.

“Then what made you think that Ward would? He probably thought that a light coloured capsule floating around the ocean between Cuba and mainland USA would have been spotted before long. Especially with Coulson, May, Trip and Skye looking for you. They had a jet and two pilots to fly it.”

Simmons took a deep breath and looked to the hangar door. “I think I need to think about this.”

Mack nodded and stood up. “Okay. Take your time. Just let me know what conclusion you’ve come to before you go to Fitz. I have some more information that whole Hydra-Ward case.”

Simmons, who was already walking down the cargo ramp, stopped. Turning, she fixed Mack with a wary stare. “What information?”

Mack shrugged. “Before Coulson asked me to help out here, I ran into someone who needed a lot of help.”

“Who?”

“Mike Peterson.”


	5. Explanations Galore

Finding herself in the lab, Simmons is brought back to reality by Fitz calling her name. Startled, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“No, I still think Ward’s a murderer! Oh, sorry Fitz.”

Fitz glanced in the direction of the door and back to Simmons, confused and a little annoyed. “Did you listen in on-on my talk with Coulson and Palamas?”

“What? No, Fitz. I just…” she sighed. “I was talking with Mack after May left, and…it seems he has a different perspective on Ward tossing us out of the plane.”

“Yeah, I knew that.”

Simmons narrowed her eyes in confusion. “You, you did? But he’s a close friend of yours, why would he tell you that he didn’t think that Ward was as evil as we do? Wouldn’t that have put you a step back?”

“Because Simmons, he wasn’t involved in this whole…mess until Ward was behind bars. He saw it from a different angle.” Fitz said, walking past her to the table he uses.

“Mack mentioned something…” Simmons waited until Fitz looked at her. “About Mike Peterson?”

“Oh, yeah. Well, you’d have to talk to Mack about that, he can explain it better than I can.” He turned back and picked up some equipment.

“I’m still confused about it.”

“Explains the outburst.” Fitz mumbled, just loud enough for Simmons to hear. “Try writing it down.”

“Sorry?” Simmons moved closer.

“You’re confused. Write everything relevant down, Mack suggested it to me. I-It’s easier to process when I can see what I’m thinking about.” he replied without turning around.

“Right.” Simmons said brightly, a clear goal in her mind. “Thank you, Fitz.” He looked up to catch her smile before she turned and hurried to her desk, pulling out a pad and pen when she sat down.

 _Maybe there’s still a chance after all._ He thought and went back to his work.

 _May was right. He isn’t stuttering, at least not much._ Simmons thought with glowing hope as she sat down at her desk. _So, from the beginning. What do I know about Ward?_ She tapped the pen on the paper for a moment before starting.

-          _Born Grant Douglas Ward._

-          _32 years old_

-          _Older brother – abused by_

-          _Younger brother – abused – forced to?_

-          _Sister - ???_

-          _Well incident – lie or not?_

-          _Joined S.H.I.E.L.D. when 20 years old_

-          _Joined Coulson’s team when 31 years old_

-          _Killed Victoria Hand and agents with her – freed Garrett_

-          _Slept with May – diversion?_

-          _Lied to us_

-          _Threw med pod into the ocean with Fitz and I in it – ‘save us’?_

-          _Brought us onto the Bus when Garrett ran it_

-          _Shot Thomas Nash_

-          _Specialist agent_

-          _Sent to brother for execution_

Simmons grimaced at the last one. _Well, that was a bit harsh, sir._ She sighed. _Who am I to be judgemental? He was on death row and I told him I’d kill him if I saw him again._

-          _Family dead – killed older brother and parents_

-          _Burned mansion to the ground_

-          _Father former senator_

-          _Brother former senator_

-          _…_

 _I don’t have anything else on him…hardly anything at all._ Simmons put her head in her hands. _Time to visit Mack again._

 

“Agent Palamas.”

Kara looked over from the punching bag she was ripping into to see May standing there, her usual unreadable expression on her face.

“What do you want, May?” she said, turning back to the sack of sand.

“I want to know why you left San Juan with Ward and didn’t come straight to us. We could have helped you.”

Kara scoffed before delivering the punching bag a vicious hit and turning back to face May. “You wanna know why? Because _Grant_ was the only one who understood what I was going through!”

“Ward?” May nearly choked. “He’s incapable of anything except obsession and insanity. He doesn’t know how to help, if he ever did!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, May!” Kara’s voice rose as she stood front on to the Deputy Director. “You’re confusing Grant for Garrett!”

“No, I’m not.” May tried to keep her cool, but gritted her teeth in doing so.

“Explain to me, then. How much do you know about him? Have you ever seen him at his worst, when he’s _broken_ , and thought anything else aside from ‘He deserves it’?”

“’Broken’? He wasn’t broken! He’s a lying, manipulative–”

“Stop right there.” Kara’s voice was dangerously low and she stepped into May’s personal space. “Think, May. Is there any time, _any time at all_ , where Grant could have made himself look more like a victim in this?”

May blinked and glanced away, as a memory came to her, unbidden.

“There was, wasn’t there?” Kara said softly, but her voice held the hint of superiority that said she already knew. “What was it, May?”

“He said he wasn’t brainwashed.”

“ _Exactly_. Now, I’m not sure that’s _entirely_ the case…but don’t you think that if he was the born manipulator you think he is, that he would have seen that as a way out? Or at least, to get better treatment than a cell with no bathroom.”

May didn’t answer.

“It wasn’t a rhetorical question, May. Answer me.”

“…perhaps.” May eventually said through gritted teeth. She longed to hit Palamas on her scarred copy-cat face, but knew that Coulson wouldn’t appreciate the lack of self-control from his second-in-command. “What do you mean, not _entirely_ the case?”

“Well, while he was working on helping me organise the jumble _my_ brainwashing had done to my mind, I noticed some patterns.” Kara turned away and walked to the bench, unwrapping her hands. “Some…similarities between what Whitehall did to me, and what Garrett did to him.”

May looked incredulous, and Kara’s anger spiked again at how stupidly stubborn the woman was being, but she was listening. So Kara focused on keeping her temper under control and _hopefully_ talking some sense into May’s head.

“He told me about the stuff that happened to him that involved Garrett, in one way or another.”

“Was this before or after you helped him out?”

“After.” She replied, sitting down.

May had a distastefully confused expression on her face.

“Before you S.H.I.E.L.D. people showed up, he was asking me what it was like working for Hydra and how I got…this.” She gestured to her face with a bitter expression. “I replied that it was due to serving Whitehall, and he seemed…sympathetic. Like he knew what it was like to suffer for someone who wasn’t worth it.”

May looked down, considering the possibility that _perhaps_ Ward had learned that the choices he made for Garrett and Hydra were mistakes.

Kara continued. “I told him that my compliance to Whitehall brought me meaning. Not those words exactly, but Grant made the correlation between that and Hydra.”

“Yes, I’m overwhelmed with how alike you are.”

Kara gave her an unimpressed look. “Garrett was never truly Hydra, and Whitehall was. Wherever our authority figures go, we follow. So yes, in a way I was loyal to Hydra.” She shook her head. “But the thing is, May. Neither of us thought we were brainwashed at the time, and you still hold Grant more accountable for his actions than you do for mine.”

May’s mouth dropped open, having never had her logic towards situations as delicate as this challenged so brazenly. “I…what did he say next?”

Kara raised an eyebrow. “He said that there was a guy he used to be loyal to. And that he went completely insane.”

“So he actually believes that?”

Pursing her lips, she nodded. “Which is why he was so concerned when he thought that Skye or Coulson was carving the same symbols that Garrett did.” She took a breath and stood. “It what was gave me hope when I didn’t know what to do.” Leaving May to consider what she’d said, she left the room.

 _If what she said is true, there could be hope for people still brainwashed._ May thought. _Who would’ve thought that it would be Ward who figured it out?_

 

Tapping her red heel-clad foot, Skye levelled Grant with a _heavily_ disappointed expression, her arms crossed tightly. Grant tried and mostly succeeded in giving the impression that he didn’t see anything wrong with what they were doing.

“ _Grant._ ” Skye said lowly and dangerously. A flicker of fear was seen in Grant’s eyes as he realised just how much trouble he was in. “Would you mind explaining what you’ve done?”

“Ensured luxury?”

Skye pursed her lips. “Yes…I’m sure that getting caught and landing our sorry asses in jail is _luxury_.”

Grant glanced at the hot red Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 that he was standing next to, and back at the love of his life. “It’s fast. We won’t get caught. If we leave now.”

“Grant, that’s a custom car! No one spends _that_ much money on a car and is slack with making sure that it remains where they left it! We’ll get pinged on theft when the owner gets the cops on our tail!”

Grant held up a laptop. “That’s where you come in.”

Rolling her eyes, Skye strode forward and grabbed the laptop out of her boyfriend’s hands. “You’re in so much trouble.”

“Why? Look, your shoes match!”

A loud, dramatic sigh was the reply. “Well, if we’re gonna go, let’s go.”

“Finally.” Grant mumbled and slid into the driver’s seat. He waited until Skye was seated in the passenger side before he started the car and pulled out of the parking space. “Once you’ve made sure we’re not going to get caught, we’re going shopping.”

“What?” Skye couldn’t believe her ears. Grant Ward suggesting shopping?

“The car is noticeable, but we’d be more remembered if we got out of a brand new, flashy car looking like we stole it because our clothes contrast.”

“We _did_ steal it.”

“Yes, but they don’t need to know that.”

“Uh huh.”

“Plus, I’ll look hot.”

Skye burst out laughing, her head falling into her hand, the arm resting on the top of the door.

“What?”

“Like you need clothes to look hot, honey.”

Grant grinned, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to look over at Skye. Her eyes darkened in response.

“You have no idea how sexy that looks.” she said.

“Well, maybe we can follow up on it once you put that laptop I got for you to use.”

“Right.” Skye opened the computer, delighted at the quality of it.

“You like it?”

Skye glanced over. “It’s a nice one you picked out.”

“And the car?”

“Yeah, I like it.”

Grant’s proud smirk was unstoppable and Skye rolled her eyes at it. “So I can steal a bunch of stuff as long as you like what I’m getting?”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether what you’re stealing hurts someone significantly or not.”

Grant smiled. “A compassionate law-breaker. Who would’ve thought?”

Skye scoffed. “Shut up and drive.”

 

“Mack?” came a tentative voice.

Mack looked up from the jack he was removing from under a newly repaired SUV to see both Fitz and Simmons walking over to him, keeping their distance from each other as usual.

“Hey, guys. Back for more?”

Simmons swung her arms awkwardly as she stopped seven feet from the mechanic, Fitz moving a little closer.

“Simmons was wanting to know more about…Mike.” Fitz said. “I told her that you could explain it better than I can.”

Mack nodded and pulled the jack out from under the vehicle, placing it upright against the work bench. “Alright. Do you wanna hear what his thoughts were on the whole Hydra-Cybertek mess, or start with how we met?”

“If you could start with you meeting him, that would be lovely.” Simmons replied.

“I knew of S.H.I.E.L.D. before Coulson approached me. Trip and I were friends from childhood, and we kept in touch.” He paused as he saw the expressions on the scientists’ faces. “It’s okay to be sad that he gone, but just because he’s dead, doesn’t mean that we have to avoid his name like the plague. I miss him, too.”

They look up, at each other and back to Mack.

“I’d gotten quite good at repairing machines, not just cars. Mike got wind of what I can do and he came to me, asking if I could help.”

“Did he want his armour off?” Simmons asked.

“Something to that effect. What Garrett was doing to him was monstrous. Taking his humanity away, bit by bit. Not that it crushed the good in him, but Garrett had had a bit of practice in that ‘shaping’ department.”

“What, with Ward?”

Mack nodded. “Yeah. Same scenario. Only Ward was fifteen when Garrett kidnapped him from juvie.”

“ _Fifteen?!_ ” Simmons shrieked. “That bastard was in Ward’s life since Ward was _fifteen_?!”

“Hence the hold he had over Ward. He felt like he owed the guy everything.”

“How do you know all this? I doubt Ward went round telling this to everyone in Hydra.”

“Garrett kept boasting. He’d made the world’s most loyal soldier. Didn’t need an eye transplant or the Incentives Programme.” Mack spread his hands wide, indicating the helplessness of the situation.

“He _made_ Ward? Surely at fifteen, he would have had ideals of his own.”

“Yeah, probably. But you know of his home situation, right? Abusive. His mother let Christian beat him up and only ever paid attention to his younger brother. His father…didn’t care. Ward likely saw Garrett as a father-figure ‘cause Garrett actually paid attention.”

“That’s awful.” Simmons said, her body tense in disgust at how cruelly Ward’s family had behaved towards him. _My family tore me down. Garrett built me back up. The way he wanted._ Ward’s words echoed in her mind, haunting.

“Sounds like brainwashing to me.” Fitz put in.

“Yeah. Look, there’s a lot of backstory to this that you’d really have to ask Ward about, ‘cause Mike wouldn’t have picked up on an awful lot of it. If not, you could ask Agent Palamas. Seems Ward told her everything.”

“Well, could you continue with Mike?” Simmons asked, wanting to file away the new information for later.

“Sure. I got some of the stuff on his arms off, and the thing on his back proved a challenge. That Centipede thing in his left forearm wouldn’t come off though.”

“Oh yes, he told us that months ago. He said the scientists where he was tested couldn’t take it off without killing him. Something to do with the serum that had infused itself into his system.” Simmons babbled, pleased to be contributing to the conversation other than entirely being the student.

Mack smiled and pulled over a stool, sitting down. “I left the leg on ‘cause that seemed more of a help than a hindrance.” Simmons nodded. “He was real grateful too, and told me about what he had found himself in.”

“After the explosion?”

“Mhm. He woke up, perhaps a week later, his leg gone and the eye in his head, relaying instructions. He was moved to Quinn’s villa in Italy with the cryo-chamber, and when he woke up, Skye was there.”

“She told us what happened next, yes.”

“Only where she was. The first thing Garrett had Mike do was kill the people who brought the leg to Quinn ‘cause they led S.H.I.E.L.D. there.”

“Well, that explains the mess we found.” Fitz muttered.

Mack inclined his head at the engineer. “Mike didn’t even know that the Clairvoyant was Garrett until S.H.I.E.L.D. found Thomas Nash, and he had Ward kill the poor guy before they could go any further. Pushed all the right buttons, and the investigation was closed.”

“I saw Coulson demand to Ward whether or not he was under orders to kill Nash, and I thought that that was a…prime example of his lying capabilities. But now I think that he told the truth that time.”

“Fitz…” Simmons said, worried.

“No, think about it, Jemma. All Garrett had to do was set the machine to respond to Coulson, but talking about Skye dying would have pissed Ward off, him having feelings for Skye and all. What?”

Both Mack and Simmons were gaping at Fitz, astonished.

“Could you stop staring at me like that?”

Mack shook his head as he snapped out of it. “Sorry, buddy. But you just said three complete sentences without stuttering.”

“And you called me Jemma.” Simmons added, tears starting to form. “You haven’t called me Jemma in months.”

Fitz was now at a loss for words, switching his gaze from one friend to the other.


	6. Reconnect

“I did?” Fitz finally managed to say.

Mack and Simmons nodded enthusiastically, huge smiles on their faces.

“Yes, Fitz. You did.” Simmons said, her joy infusing her words.

“And if you stutter every now and then, don’t worry about it. You’re making great progress.” Mack added.

Fitz blushed and fumbled for words. “I…I don’t know what to say…”

“How about further explaining why you thought Ward was telling the truth?” Simmons said gently. “Something about feelings for Skye?”

“Yes, and um…” Fitz pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ward had some feelings for Skye. I’m honestly surprised you didn’t notice Jemma, the way he was looking at her. So, when Garrett had the machine talk about Skye dying, it would have…pushed a button for Ward. No orders necessary.”

“Garrett used Ward just as much as he used us.” Simmons said quietly. Fitz nodded.

“Do you think Ward knows that now?” Mack asked.

“Perhaps…”

“At least he would be figuring it out. I think he and Palamas were sort of like…therapists for each other. Only there was real empathy between them, not just sympathy.” Fitz explained. “And now that he’s with Skye, and Palamas is here with us, they have different people to bounce their thoughts off. And it’s probably better off that way. Ward being here instead of Palamas would end up with him back in Vault D. Whereas Skye…barely knows Palamas, so on her own with her wouldn’t inspire the greatest of confidences.”

“Because Ward and Palamas have a lot more in common.” Simmons added. “And it was a life or death situation, so I suppose that would bring even Ward and I to a mutual understanding, at least.” She continued, thinking about herself in the same situation.

Mack smiled to himself, pleased at how well the two scientists were getting along.

“There would be a difference, though.” Fitz wondered out loud.

“With how they open up? Ward loves Skye, and she loves him, they’ve made that pretty clear. So talking won’t be a problem.” Simmons was enjoying the increasing lack of restriction between herself and Fitz, so kept trying to fully analyse every angle of Ward’s actions.

“Depends on your definition of ‘talking’.” Mack said quietly, not intending for her to hear, but failing as she gave him a look of _Really?_

“And Palamas…”

“Palamas only came here for Skye. Or so she told us. I don’t think she would have appreciated being a third wheel.” Fitz finished her trail of thought, overlapping a little, but their faces lit up as they tried to fit back together, both of them finally on the same page.

“Oh! Do you think Palamas would be more willing to tell us what she went through if we found a way to get the broken mask off of her face?” Simmons babbled on, euphoric.

Fitz smiled widely. “Yeah…yeah that might work.” He glanced at Mack, who smiled and nodded encouragingly.

“Well, if you could find out the calibrations for the mask, I could decipher the difference between what attached with her skin and what _is_ her skin.”

“That way we could calculate the recalibrations we need to release the hold the electrical surge made to the mask.”

“And perhaps you could figure out what the voltage of the electricity was when she was fighting May. That way I can see where the frayed edges of the mask are and where her skin is actually burned. Perhaps I can create something using my knowledge of GH325 to help that part of her heal.”

“Brilliant deduction, Dr. Watson.”

Simmons laughed in delight at the newfound chemistry between them. They knew they could never go back to who they were, but they were starting to reconnect. That was something.

“Well, why don’t you go ask her about it?” Mack encouraged.

“Right.” Simmons said brightly, beaming at both the men in front of her. “Shall we?”

“We shall.” Fitz replied, leading her down the Bus’ ramp.

Mack watched them babble on and waited until they were out of the hangar before punching the air in triumph.

“Were you trying to set that up from the beginning?” Hunter asked, moving out of the doorway from the main living area of the Bus.

“No. But I wasn’t going to stop them. They need that dynamic.”

Hunter raised his hands. “Don’t get me wrong, I completely agree with you. But _you_ know, out of _all_ people, that letting go of anger and hate towards others is the first step to moving forward.”

Mack chuckled. “And that’s why I brought up the subject.”

Hunter inclined his head pointedly. “I heard Fitz say something about brainwashing.”

“He was talking about Ward.” Mack moved back to the SUV, sliding into the driver’s seat.

“Do you think the guy was brainwashed?” Hunter pressed, leaning against the frame of the open window.

Mack sighed and let his hand hang over the edge of the wheel. “To some extent. Enough to make him remain loyal to Garrett, but I think that mad bastard knew that Ward needed to be able to make his own decisions in certain situations.”

“He followed orders without thinking twice, but…” he trailed off as Mack shook his head.

“Nah, he definitely thought twice. But it seems to me that Ward is the type of guy who believes in the goodness of people. He probably thought that Garrett had something decent up his sleeve once he was sure that he wasn’t gonna die.”

“Ah.”

“You should probably talk to Bobbi about this. I gotta put this back.” Mack patted the steering wheel and drove out of the cargo hold, Hunter left standing there, confused.

 

“Phil, I know that as Director, you’re entitled to keeping things secret–”

“Oh, good.”

“But I need to know what you and Agent Palamas talked to Fitz about.” May continued, balling her fists at Coulson’s calmness towards the subject.

“May, we’ve talked about this.” Coulson replied, turning to face her as they reached a crossroads in the maze of corridors snaking around the base. “What Agent Palamas had to discuss was between her and Fitz. She requested that I remain for _Fitz’s_ benefit.”

“And you’re certain that nothing she said could have harmed him in any way?”

Coulson opened his mouth to answer when the sound of babbling accents interrupted.

“…if we could figure out the voltage of the light in that hotel room–” said the Scottish voice.

“–we could figure out how much damage was done to the mask, and consequently, Agent Palamas’ face.” The English accent finished for him.

“Do you think we could get an escort to go back there to check?”

“I doubt it, Fitz. Hydra knows the location, and knows we know it. We could ask May, she was hit with the voltage repeatedly…oh hello May, Sir.” she added brightly as the pair caught sight of the Director and his Deputy.

“What were you just talking about?” Coulson queried.

FitzSimmons glanced at each other before Simmons spoke.

“Well, we were thinking that perhaps for Agent Palamas to feel like she can trust us–”

“–we could find way to remove the…mask.” Fitz was suddenly unsure about talking so freely.

Coulson and May looked at each other, shocked and delighted.

“That’d be great, guys.” Coulson said, facing the scientists again.

“What do you need?” May asked, a smile sneaking its way onto her face.

“Firstly we’d need Agent Palamas’ permission.” Simmons started.

“Then we’d need to know the…voltage of the light that you used to fuse the mask onto her face.” Fitz continued, gaining more confidence as neither of the senior agents discouraged him.

“And also, the calibrations of the mask itself, to determine the difference between it and her skin.”

“The voltage wasn’t very high. Probably just standard. It did more damage to Palamas because of the current already in the mask acting as a booster.” May said.

“A catalyst.”

“It’s an excellent idea, FitzSimmons. You should find Agent Palamas before you do anything about it, make sure she’s on board.” Coulson encouraged. “Off you go.”

“Yes, Sir.” they chorused and hurried away, whispering excitedly.

May watched them go, and turned back to Coulson, tears in her eyes and a joyous smile gracing her face. “What did Palamas say to him? He’s almost the same old Fitz.”

“I’m not sure it’s entirely Palamas.” Hunter joined in as he walked over. “They were talking to Mack about Ward.”

“ _How_ would that help?!” May’s happiness was cut short at the mere mention of Ward’s name. “He’s the one who damaged Fitz!”

“You’d be surprised, Agent May, at how much positive progress can be made when you let go of negative emotions.” He continued casually, moving past before he got into too much trouble.

 

Grant had only just returned to his self-designated station outside the dressing room that Skye had occupied when she flung another garment over the door and hit him square in the face.

“Skye.” He growled out, pulling the knee length lilac dress off of his head.

“Grant.” She mocked, using the same gruff tone. “It’s for the ‘keep’ pile.” She added in her normal voice.

He sighed and draped it over his arm, adding it to three more outfits she chosen. “How many more?”

“A couple.” At Grant’s loud groan of disappointment, Skye pursed her lips. “You were the one who suggested shopping.”

“For a _few_ outfits! I thought we’d take ten minutes each, but you’ve used up half an hour and only chosen four sets!”

“You have obviously never gone shopping with a woman who loves the luxury of spending sprees.”

“Well, you’ve got that right.” He grumbled, but she heard him.

Opening the door to the changing room, Skye stepped out, wearing a tight fitting bright pink dress. Grant’s blinked rapidly as he caught sight of her. Then he shook his head.

“No. You’d draw too much attention.”

“Why’s that?”

“One, its bright pink. Anyone could spot it from a mile off.”

Skye scoffed, but Grant wasn’t finished.

“And two, you’d catch the eye of _everyone_ in that.”

She was silent for a while, just looking at him. “Grant, I have _never_ gone shopping like this. I only got my clothes from op shops, or when I stole them. I just want to feel like a normal woman, the kind they portray everywhere. The kind that doesn’t have the problems that I have, like Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“The ones that have spoilt kids and cheating husbands.”

“I would _never_ have spoilt kids. And the cheating is entirely on the husband’s shoulders, if that’s the case.”

Grant smirked, gazing at Skye with an adoring expression. “I understand. There’s a lot we missed out on. But we gotta get moving.”

“Fine.” She replied sullenly, turning back to the dressing room. “I don’t think I want that last outfit anyway.”

Dancing on the inside, Grant said in a spur of the moment decision, “We can get a couple of pairs of shoes as well.”

“Love you!” came the reply from the stall, clearly happier. He just smiled.

 

“Again!” the women chorused, facing down each other as they sparred on the mats in the training centre. They grinned, then attacked.

Opening the door, Hunter witnessed Bobbi and Kara execute perfect hand-to-hand combat skills, countering each other’s attempts with moves of their own. Leaning against a suspended punching bag, he waited for Bobbi to be available and admired the resilience and technique of both women’s fighting styles.

After seven and a half minutes of flying hair and skin hitting skin, Kara managed to pin down Bobbi by placing one hand on her throat and the other pressed into her diaphragm. Panting slightly, Bobbi nodded once and Kara got up slowly. Hunter started applauding, gaining the attention of both agents.

“I have _never_ seen anyone take down Bobbi like that. Bravo.”

“Not even May?” Kara asked, curious.

“Not like that.” Hunter replied, his ‘impressed’ smile accompanied by a glint in his eye.

“It doesn’t give you license to start anything like what you’re thinking of, Hunter.” Bobbi said firmly, rolling to her feet and standing to face him.

He barely had enough time to give her a look of shocked hurt at how she could possibly think that of him when the door to the training centre flew open and FitzSimmons rushed in, excitement rolling off them in waves.

“Agent Palamas, we need to ask you an important question.” Simmons blurted out before she’d even gotten her breath back.

“How badly do you want that mask off?” Fitz followed up, just as quickly.

Kara blinked. “Ah…pretty badly.”

“Oh, good!” Simmons beamed.

“We think we know how to remove it.” Fitz said, grinning proudly from ear to ear.

Kara readjusted her footing on the mat she was standing on as she gazed at the scientists, hope and disbelief sparkling in her eyes.

“We’d like to measure the calibrations of the mask, to get it to unattach itself from your skin, if possible.” Simmons continued when several moments went by with Kara not making a sound. “Kara?” she asked tentatively.

“Ah, thank you.” Kara managed to say, starting a little at Simmons calling her by her first name. “I-”

“No need to thank us ‘til we’ve managed to do it.” Fitz cut across her stammering.

Kara’s eyes started to well up with tears and she looked towards Hunter. Smiling, he gestured towards FitzSimmons as an indication for her to go with them. Swallowing, she nodded and strode forward, following the pair who led her out of the room.

“You didn’t look surprised.” Bobbi commented, looking cautiously at Hunter.

He shrugged. “I overheard them in the Bus discussing the possibilities for helping her.” He pushed off the punching bag and walked slowly towards Bobbi. “It seems Ward presented them with an opportunity to work together like they used to. Indirectly, I suppose.”

“Solving a problem? Or letting go of anger?” she asked knowingly.

“Both. They’ve grown from who they were. Their dynamic should be stronger than ever once they realise that they haven’t lost everything between them.”

Bobbi nodded.

“You ever notice a similarity?” Hunter asked out of the blue.

“Between who?”

“Ward and Bakshi.” He came to a stop in front of her.

Bobbi gave him a weird look. “How so?”

“In their relationships with their leaders.”

“As in Bakshi and Whitehall, and Ward and Garrett?” She gave a non-committal shrug. “What’s your point?”

“Come on, Bobbi. You have Bakshi pegged.” Hunter wandered over to the bench and sat down. “Go over what you know about him.”

“Why?”

“Humour me.”

Bobbi huffed. “Fine.” Turning away, she started pacing. “He grew up on the street, parents weren’t around, did petty crime, went into the military, washed out, refined his accent, still struggles on the t’s.” She stopped and looked at him. “Where’s the similarities? Aside from the military.”

“The crime part. Bakshi did petty, Ward went all out with GTA and attempted arson and murder. It wasn’t the part I was referring to, though.”

“Then what were you referring to?”

“How they saw the guys who led them. What happened between Bakshi and Whitehall?”

Bobbi crossed her arms and looked upward vaguely as she thought back to what she’d figured out about the man still imprisoned in Vault D. “Bakshi didn’t trust him at first, but Whitehall had the upper hand. Gave him a chance…a way out of the situation he’d found himself in, I guess.” She looked back at Hunter, understanding and realisation sparking in her eyes.

“Now you’re getting it.” he observed smugly. “Carry on.”

“Whitehall become his saviour, sort of. Showed some belief in him. Bakshi had never had that before…and neither did Ward. You know, I’m impressed with how good of person Ward is. His only downfall was a trait that’s only negative in certain circumstances. He’s unbelievably loyal.”

Hunter just smiled. _Sowing the seeds. I miss that kick-ass agent._

“And well, with both Garrett and Whitehall being Hydra…”

“I don’t think Garrett was loyal to Hydra.”

“Then who was he loyal to? Himself?” she scoffed. He didn’t answer. “How do you know this?”

“Through Mack. He talked to Mike Peterson. Ward was talking to Garrett about the coup they were planning once Garrett was saved, and he kept glancing over at Mike.”

“Making sure that he was prepared for whatever was gonna happen.” She continued, seeing where he was going.

“Or warning the team. He knew Skye would have hacked the system once they found the computer in the barbershop basement, finding Mike’s handler’s line would’ve been a piece of cake.”

“And they would’ve had more than just Hydra to worry about.” Bobbi sighed, slightly impressed at how far Ward actually went to bring down a man who was spiralling into insanity.

“Anyway, back to Bakshi.” Hunter urged.

“What else is there to say? I mean, we know the guy had some rough deals in life, and didn’t handle them all too well.”

“There was something Bakshi said when you mentioned brainwashing for the first time.”

“He said, ‘I’m not one of those fanatics Hydra controls.’” Bobbi strode over to sit next to her ex-husband. “I think that’s somewhat stretching the limits of logic there, Hunter.”

He shrugged. “Well, maybe.”

Bobbi studied him for several moments. “You miss her, don’t you?”

“Who?”

She gave him a look that meant she knew that he knew exactly who he was talking about.

“Skye?” he received a nod. “Yeah, I do. And I thought–”

“–that if you could convince Coulson to give Ward a second chance, she’d come back.” Bobbi finished knowingly.

“Yeah.”

Hunter started a little when Bobbi laid her head on his shoulder.

“I miss her too.” she said softly.


	7. Ward's Family

“So what’s the plan after we get any possible goons off our tail?” Skye asked, as she tapped away on the keyboard, glancing up at Grant when he didn’t reply immediately. “Grant? You do have a plan, right? Or are we just gonna bumble around like I did in my van?”

Grant chuckled. “Bumbling’s not my speed.” Skye let out a little snort. “Pun not intended.”

“Sure it wasn’t. We just happen to be in a fast new car, and you completely missed the opportunity.” She didn’t see him roll his eyes. “ _Do_ you have a plan?”

“Garrett mentioned in passing other companies like Cybertek, that specialised in creating the armour and technology that was used on the Deathlok programme.” He replied after a beat.

“What, like sister companies?” Skye closed the laptop, and focused on Grant.

“Something of the sort. I didn’t really ask about it.”

“Does your robot setup not have a curiosity setting?”

“Ha-ha.” He glanced over. “Garrett wasn’t used to me expressing my thoughts, so asking about companies that were off S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar would have raised a red flag.”

“Okay…”

“It’s another reason why I got you the laptop. You know what Hydra’s communication channels are, right?”

“Yeah, the white noise, but if Garrett made those companies for his own survival, he wouldn’t have told Hydra where they are.”

Grant snickered. “They found out anyway. After the Battle of Cybertek, Hydra took what they could, using their moles in the army. Found a lot of interesting stuff.”

“How come you never mentioned this in the vault?” Skye said incredulously.

“If I’d said anything about sister companies of Cybertek, and then not given more information regarding that, how do you think things would have progressed?” Grant retorted angrily.

Skye opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to come up with a counter argument that favoured S.H.I.E.L.D. “No, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.”

A few moments of silence permeated the car.

“Whitehall told me after I approached him about the opening Bakshi left behind.” Grant muttered, keeping his eyes on the road.

“You didn’t hand Bakshi over to us on a spur-of-the-moment decision, did you?” Skye asked, starting to see the plan that Ward had mapped out.

“Nope.” He popped the ‘p’.

“What about your brother?” she was almost afraid to ask.

“He’s alive.” Grant smiled.

Skye blinked. “But…what about the bodies?”

“He had two bodyguards with him that day.”

“There were three bodies, Grant.”

“My mother…attacked me as soon as she saw me walk up the front steps with Christian. My father had been looking for a reason to get rid of her for years.” He sighed, but he was hiding most of the pain that had come with that.

“Former Senator Ward shot his wife?” she was shocked. _That’s what the Ward children lived with?_

“Yeah. I was just going to burn down the house and have my parents and Christian disappear, but because she was dead…”

“You created the murder-suicide scene.” Skye finished for him, her tone grave and understanding.

Grant nodded slowly. “At my father’s request. I told him and Christian why I was there, and they agreed to help. It also got them out of having to go to her… _their_ …funeral.”

“And the recording?” Skye questioned. “He sounded terrified.”

“I still have a copy of that, actually. And it’s from before the arson.”

“Do you have it on you?”

“No, Skye. It’s in a P.O. Box in San Juan.” Grant quipped.

Skye’s face lit up. “Did you just make a _joke_?”

“A comment.”

“A sarcastic one. Did it fry your circuits? Do you need an engineer?”

Grant burst out laughing, Skye joining in with delight, both of them remembering a similar banter they had over Battleship.

“But seriously, Grant. Can I hear what was said? Or is that brocode?”

“Is that _what_?” his face was plastered in confusion.

“Brocode.” At his look of continued bemusement, she leaned towards him. “You’ve never heard of the ‘brocode’? _Seriously_?”

“What’s the ‘brocode’?”

Skye sighed and sat back. “Technically, you should be getting this from another guy, someone you’re ‘bros’ with.”

Grant shrugged, his fingers lifting off the steering wheel in a vague, restricted gesture. “‘Bro’ as in…brother?”

“Yeah. Or someone you consider to be a ‘bro’. A close male friend.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “How have you _never_ heard of the ‘brocode’?”

“Fitz never mentioned it.” he mumbled.

Skye’s heart seemed to melt and break at the same time. _He thought of Fitz as a brother! Oh, what he did to Fitz must be eating away at him…_ Focusing on the happier thought for now, she posed another question. “Trip didn’t either? He was the type to swing with that.”

“We weren’t close. Most of the time we spent together was around Garrett, and you know how _he_ was with ‘weaknesses’.”

Skye pulled a face at the mention of Garrett. He had screwed everything up in Grant’s life, it was a miracle that Grant turned out the way he did.

Sensing that Skye didn’t want to talk about such sad topics as Garrett, Grant turned the conversation back to his brother. “Christian and I never had much of a sibling dynamic, so no, there’s no “brocode” between us.” He made quotation marks around the word. “And I hope that everyone on the team gives themselves the chance to watch it. You all locked me up in isolation, so you should all see the effects of what you did.”

“As horrible as that treatment was…I think I was right.” Skye said quietly. Grant looked at her as though she’d gone mad, and she hurried to clarify. “With what I said in the bar. About you being stronger than any of us.” She looked out the window at the passing landscape before elaborating. “You suffered abuse from everyone who was supposed to love and care for you, and you’re still protective, righteous, bloody magnificent and…so, so loving.” She looked back at him. “How amazing would you be if you’d gotten the right treatment from the beginning?”

Grant sucked in a breath and released it with a shrug. “It may have been because of all the wrongs I witnessed and experienced that I stuck so firmly to what was obviously right. Silver linings, right?”

Skye’s mouth was slowly slipping into a smile as Grant spoke. “Always look on the bright side of life.” She sang.

Grant chuckled. “Well, at least in the position I’m in now…I can do some good. Knowing what I know about Hydra.”

She looked away, uncertainty creasing her forehead. “Yeah.”

Grant’s mildly good mood vanished with Skye’s response. “Skye? What’s wrong?”

“Grant, I…I’m scared that the power that I now have puts you in danger. With S.H.I.E.L.D. it was different, there were so many people who could take care of each other. But with just you? We’re alone.” Her voice broke near the end and tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m _terrified_ that they’re going to kill you to get to me.”

“What changed, Skye? A couple of nights ago, you were adamant that you wanted to be with me, no matter what. Is it ‘cause Hydra attacked you?” When she nodded he sighed. “We can’t let them get in the way of us anymore. You handled them fine on your own.”

“They were two guys, Grant! And they found me _the same night_ that I left with you!” Skye nearly shrieked.

“Do they know that I’m with you?”

“I don’t know. They went for me when I was on my own, instead of when I was with you, so…”

“They’re avoiding me.” This only solidified Grant’s decision to stay.

“And apparently, two goons isn’t going to be successful in retrieving me, so they’re gonna send more as soon as they find out where we are!” Skye’s voice rose several octaves, betraying her intense feelings of horror at the possibility that Grant suffers because of her again. The ground around her started to tremble, shaking the car.

“Skye.” He began calmly, knowing he needed to get her into a relaxed state of mind in order for her to make rational and whole-hearted decisions. “Relax. You’re getting wound up.” Slowly, Skye released the pent up breath she held and felt her racing pulse reduce its breakneck pace. The ground stilled. “Good. Now, you should know that there is no way in Hell that I am _ever_ leaving you. No buts.” He added quickly as Skye opened her mouth to object. “I am not ever abandoning you again.”

Skye tilted her head to the side sadly. “Grant…this is Hydra. I have to do that part alone.”

“It’s _suicide_.”

“Not if I don’t die.” Skye mumbled, barely pronouncing the words correctly, but he heard her.

“Don’t.” he said, shaking his head. “Don’t throw my words back in my face. The Hub was different, they were level five foot soldiers, and there was twelve of them. Hydra is a worldwide _army_.”

“I can’t…I can’t lose you. Not ever.”

“If I had to give my life to save yours, I would do so. But if there was a way for us both to survive, I would choose that first. I won’t give you up.” He slowed to stop at traffic lights and turned his head to face her. “Not ever.”

Skye’s eyes, previously brimming with tears, now had tear tracks leading down from them. She reached for his hand at the same time that he reached for hers. “Together, then.”

“Together.” Grant agreed, a sad, yet adoring smile hiding so much hope, gracing his face.

 

“Yo, Turbo. You wanted to see me?” Mack poked his head around the door of Fitz’s room, where he was seated with Simmons and fiddling with the computer on his lap.

Fitz looked up. “Yeah, we finally got time to watch the debrief conversation in Coulson’s office.”

“Oh, okay.” Mack replied, sidling into the room after glancing over his shoulder. He closed the door and moved to sit on the bed next to the engineer. “What about Palamas? Aren’t you gonna get that mask off her face?”

“We are. We just need for Agent Palamas to be completely rested and energised beforehand, as the procedure may possibly drain her.” Simmons piped up from the chair in front of the bed. “The mask takes DNA from the original and imposes it onto the imposter, physically attaching itself. And so for the face to appear as though it was the actual person’s face, the imposter needs to have the expressions mimic their own.”

“So we need to peel it off of her face using electrical currents, and that’s harmful enough without her being tired already. It needs to be done in doses.” Fitz continued, not looking up from the screen.

“Sounds awesome and…really technical. I’ll take your word for it that it works.” Mack said, lost by most of what the scientists had been saying.

“Got it.” Fitz nearly cut Mack off, speaking a split second later. “Ready?”

Simmons moved to the other side of Fitz, and all three of them shifted backwards until they were leaning against the wall that Fitz’s bunk was built against. Fitz pressed play and settled in between his two closest friends.

_Nothing happened for a few minutes, then the door opened and Coulson strode in, heading straight for his desk followed by May, Palamas, Bobbi and Hunter. The agents arranged themselves on chairs and flat surfaces around the room with the exception of Palamas, who remained standing, leaning against the wall beside the door._

_“So, Agent Palamas. You said you were here for Skye. Why is that?” Coulson spoke first, turning to her as he sat down._

_“Because she and Grant love each other and are prepared to put the past behind them.” Palamas replied coolly. She opened her mouth again to continue speaking but was interrupted by May._

_“Why the Hell would Skye have done that? She’s been furious with Ward for months!”_

_“Around you, maybe. And anyone else who encouraged it. How would you have reacted if she said that she still loved him?”_

_The room was silent for a few beats as the occupants realised that they weren’t exactly open-minded about the entire Ward situation._

_“It would explain why she was so furious with him over his betrayal. I mean, the last guy she was with was Miles, right? And you know how well that ended.” Bobbi eventually said, checking with Coulson that her information on Miles was correct._

_Coulson sighed. “Well, what happened to you in San Juan? After our little shooting match, I mean.” He moved the conversation on and focused on getting to the point of what had happened._

_“I found Grant bleeding against the door of the room he was tied to a chair in and helped him out. He promised to help me.” Palamas replied, her voice level and blank._

_“He’s a liar.”_

_“He didn’t lie about that. He did help me.”_

_Coulson waved his hand exasperatedly. “Why would he do that?”_

_“Because he’s sympathetic. A quality you seem to lack.” Palamas accused, narrowing her eyes._

_“We tried to help you! And you tried to kill Skye!” Coulson raised his voice, his panic for Skye’s safety underlining his tone._

_“I was brainwashed! I didn’t think for myself because I was being controlled!” Palamas snapped back, pushing off the wall. “Whitehall used the Faustus method. It took hours to become effective on me, but I couldn’t control what I did.”_

_“How did it break then?” the Director challenged._

_“With Whitehall’s death.”_

_“You should be thanking Coulson for that.” May spoke up again._

_“Using that logic, Simmons should be thanking Grant for saving her life. Twice.” Palamas immediately replied, turning to face the woman she resembled. “Once when she jumped out of the plane, and once when Garrett ordered Grant to shoot her. Except, you put that down to his ‘manipulation’ and Simmons threatened to kill him if she ever saw him again. Coulson didn’t kill him for me, but Ward certainly did it for her.”_

_“He is a manipulator.”_

_“Well, he would’ve learned from the best.” Palamas crossed her arms with a false smile. “Not just Garrett, but his mother and brother.”_

_“He got you to blame his family as well.” May rolled her eyes as though she should’ve expected it._

_“I_ spoke _to his family. And saw the well. And listened to the recording.”_

_“Senator Ward said that the well story didn’t exist.” Coulson put in._

_“Senator Ward is a_ politician _!” Palamas almost outright yelled._

_“Wait. ‘Is’?” May stood up at the sound of the small word. “What do you mean by ‘is’?”_

_“I mean exactly that.”_

_“Christian Ward is dead. And so are his parents. The house was a burned wreck.” May took a couple of steps forward and Palamas stiffened._

_“Yes, it was. Fire destroys a lot of evidence.”_

_“The bodies were identified.” Coulson said calmly, but he seemed to be putting the pieces together._

_“By the Ward’s personal possessions.” Palamas smiled at Coulson, twisting her body away from May. “They’re alive.” Her hand, hidden behind her back, clenched as she said this._

“Did you see that?” Mack asked quietly as there was a lull in the conversation.

Fitz paused the video. “I did. Was she lying?”

Simmons pursed her lips. “I don’t think so, not entirely. She only betrayed herself there, but when she said that she spoke to his family, she seemed sincere.”

“So…the senator’s alive. Which one of his parents died?” Mack mused.

“What if they both are?”

“Nah, she said family.”

“And I doubt his younger brother would be in contact unless he absolutely had to.” Fitz added. “Probably changed his name to avoid detection, so it’ll be difficult for Hydra to find him.”

“Hmm. We should finish this and get some rest for ourselves before the surgery.” Simmons said. “Play it.”

Fitz clicked the mouse pad and the video continued.

_“So who were the bodies?” Bobbi asked, sounding sickened._

_“Christian’s bodyguards. They couldn’t let it slip that the Wards were actually alive, and at least one of them was Hydra.”_

_“So by killing the guards, it eliminated the possibility of Hydra going after them.”_

_“Yes.” Palamas was more relaxed as May had moved back to her seat._

_Bobbi turned to the Deputy Director. “I’m surprised you didn’t pick up on the fact that she said ‘family’.”_

_“He has his Gramsy, and his younger brother Thomas is alive, as far as I’m aware.” Coulson said, drawing the room’s attention to him. Bobbi nodded._

_“Well, is there anything else you want to discuss?” Hunter piped up, finally speaking for the first time since he entered the office._

_“Yes.” Coulson straightened up and looked intently at Palamas. “Why did Skye leave with Ward?”_

_“I’ve already told you. They’re giving each other a chance.” She shook her head. “You didn’t see what they did up on stage.”_

_“We did, actually. Fitz found this online.” Coulson swiped upwards on the tablet in front of him and the YouTube video appeared on the big screen on the wall._

_“Huh. Well, I wasn’t the only one there. Would you like Agent Morse to tell you her perspective on the matter?”_


	8. Meet the Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took so long. I've been inundated with study.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Skye asked Grant, her voice betraying her uncertainty.

“One hundred percent.” Grant turned to look at her, a small smile on his face. “Gramsy and Thomas’ll love to meet you.”

“But what if they don’t like me? I did _shoot_ you!”

Grant sighed, leaning his head against the headrest of the driver’s seat. “I already phoned ahead, so we can’t bail out now.”

Skye just glared. “We’re going to have to work on our communication a little more.” She said grumpily before she got out of the car. Grant glanced over as she opened the car door. Chuckling to himself, he also exited the vehicle and locked it, following Skye to the front door of the house they’d parked in front of.

The door opened before Skye was halfway there and a man who looked somewhat like Grant rushed out. “Grant!” he yelled in delight before jumping on him. Skye just stood on the path, looking utterly confused.

“Grant?” a softer voice sounded from the doorway, drawing Skye’s attention. An old woman, tiny for her age, stepped out of the house. She flicked her gaze to Skye, and the agent was surprised at how intense it was. “You must be Skye. Welcome, dear.” She smiled, and Skye couldn’t resist beaming back.

“Nice to see you too, Tommy. Can I say hi to Gramsy as well?” Grant’s amused but slightly annoyed tone floated towards the women, who turned their heads to see the younger of the two men drop the ground after clinging to Grant. “Hi there, Gramsy.”

“Grant, darling.” The Ward grandmother raised her arms for a hug, and as soon as they pulled apart, she hit his shoulder. “Why did it take you so long to come back to me? It’s been decades!”

“Sixteen years, Gramsy.” Grant replied, rubbing the spot where she hit him. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t get you involved in what I got myself caught up in.”

Skye’s heart went out to this family, still so close after so long apart.

“Are you going to introduce us, Grant?” Thomas spoke up. He was looking at the strange woman on his property.

“Sorry. Tommy, this is Skye, my girlfriend. Skye, this is Tommy, my younger brother.” Grant gestured from one adult to the next.

“Hi.” Skye smiled, but the look that Thomas gave her wasn’t friendly.

“So you’re the one who shot Grant.” He said menacingly.

Gramsy looked horrified as she looked between Grant, Thomas and Skye, noting the devastated look on Skye’s face, the resigned one on Grant’s and Thomas’s cruel glare on his. Gathering her manners about her, she turned to her youngest grandchild. “Thomas Ward, the next time you are anything less than polite to a guest, you will be scrubbing this house from floor to ceiling. Do you understand me?”

Thomas was appalled. “But she–”

“I heard what you said. And I saw her reaction. Do you honestly expect your brother would have brought her here if he hadn’t forgiven her first?”

The man now looked ashamed and looked at the ground. “No.” he mumbled.

“Good. Now dears,” she said, turning back to the couple. “Come on in and tell me everything that has happened since you left for military school.”

Skye looked at Grant. “You went to military school?”

“My goodness, Skye, you have much to learn about this man.” Gramsy laughed, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. Grant groaned as his grandmother took Skye by the hand, leading her into the house while listing all the stories she would no doubt retell later on.

“Looks like you’ll be staying a lot longer than you expected.” Thomas commented from his left side. Grant looked at him. “You turned up in a car that you obviously stole, because that is and has never been your style of vehicle, and you were wanting to stay the night?”

Grant shrugged. “It’s not like we have anywhere to stay.”

“Oh well. Perfect excuse then.” Thomas smiled before leading the way into the house.

 

Grant found Skye standing on the deck out the back of the house, gazing at the starry sky. Stopping in the doorway, he leant against the frame, just admiring the view. He knew she was troubled, not helped by Thomas’ icy behaviour towards her, but he was going to wait until she was ready to share her thoughts.

A few moments passed before Skye turned her head round enough to look at him. Her face softened into a fond smile, but her eyes held immeasurable sadness. “Hey.” She said.

“Hey.” Grant replied, smiling back.

Pursing her lips, Skye turned the rest of her body around to face him and leant back against the post. “How did Thomas know?”

“I told him.” He hurried to elaborate at Skye’s hurt look. “It was a month after. I was still quite angry at you then, and he was concerned that I wasn’t gonna make it.”

Skye glanced down and crossed her arms. “You know I never wanted you to die, right?” she said in a small voice.

“I know.” Grant soothed her, pushing off the doorframe and walking towards Skye. “I meant ‘make it’ as in get to our meeting place. We hadn’t talked for years, and he was so excited see me again.” He smiled fondly.

Skye had laughter playing at the edges of her smile. “I noticed.”

Grant chuckled, his voice reverberating through his chest as he slipped his arms around Skye’s waist. Smirking a little, Skye slid her hands into Grant’s hair and pulled his face down to hers, meeting his lips with a delicate sweetness.

Neither of them noticed Thomas standing in the kitchen, seeing the kiss through the window. Although he understood how much his brother loved this woman, he could not picture himself accepting someone’s love after they shot him, and seethed with anger at how much this Skye had Grant Ward wrapped around her finger.

Placing the tea towel he’d been strangling onto the bench, he strode out of the kitchen to grab a tracker he’d snagged from the police station a week ago. Ensuring that it was still functioning, he snuck out of the front door and crept to the flashy car parked on the street.

_Sorry, Grant. But you made one mistake too many. She doesn’t deserve you._

 

“Thank you for the tea, Gramsy.” Skye said with a smile as she placed the empty mug into the sink.

“Oh, you’re welcome dear.” Gramsy beamed back. She was overall delighted with her grandson’s girlfriend. “I take it you’ll be staying tonight?”

“If you have room. We’re kind of on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“Oh, Lordy. Well, I should hope the police aren’t on your trail. They don’t trust anyone around here, and their behaviour shows it.”

“Oh.” Skye turned away slightly with a frown. “We should leave early tomorrow morning, then.”

Gramsy fixed her sad gaze upon the woman. “I wish I could help more, dear. But me and my old age…”

“It’s fine, Gramsy, really. A bed for the night is more than we were asking for.” Skye’s mopey expression cleared when Grant walked into the room, but his harried look brought about a feeling of dread. “Grant?”

“Police dispatch. They’ve been tipped off. We need to go.”

“ _What?_ How?” Skye demanded, already striding forwards to meet him.

Grant took her hand and pulled her towards the front door as he answered. “I don’t know. But we can figure this out once we’ve gone. Gramsy, I’m so sorry to leave like this.” He turned to his grandmother, who had trailed after them looking increasingly worried. “Tell Thomas I said goodbye.” He said, giving her a hug.

She nodded. “I will. Be safe, the pair of you.” She pulled Skye into a brief hug and then pushed them on their way. “Of you go. Before you end up with your backsides in jail.”

Grant and Skye all but sprinted for the car, jumping in and speeding off minutes before the wailing police cars screeched to a halt in its place.


	9. We Have A Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Gruesome scenes are in this chapter. Bloody and full of death.

“Skye, can you hack into the police system? Get them off our tail.” Grant said, weaving into traffic on the main road. He sighed. “We’re gonna have to dump this car.”

Skye pulled her laptop out from under the seat and opened it hurriedly. “Yeah, I should be able to do that, it’s just easier with prox…” she trailed off as the image on the screen gained the appearance of static. “What the hell?” she muttered.

“What now?” Grant demanded. _Not another thing gone wrong!_

“There’s some sort of…interference. A scrambler, but I’ve never seen anything like it. It says it’s originating from the car.”

“The owner found us?”

Skye shook her head frantically. “Can’t be. I blocked all chance they had of finding a trail. I _triple_ checked.”

Grant turned onto a road that had a decent straight stretch, and took the opportunity to take a look at the mess on Skye’s laptop. “I know what that is.” At Skye’s shocked gaze, he explained further. “I’ve come across it before. S.H.I.E.L.D. would sometimes help out the police with their cases, and we gave them some tech.” he nodded at the screen. “That’s from a tracker.”

“Coming from the car…” Skye said, catching up. “So we’ve been tagged, and it won’t let us get off the radar?”

“That’d be right.”

“God, it’s an on-the-run hacker’s worst nightmare.”

“I’m gonna stop the car up here, then we’re gonna have to run. There’s a park nearby, we head for that.”

“Got it.” Skye shut the laptop and lid it back under her seat. “Though isn’t that a bit obvious?”

“Yeah, that’s the point. We’re trained agents, but they don’t know that. So we loop around, head back to Gramsy’s to make sure she’s alright, then we GTA again and head further east.”

“Kay.”

Grant pulled over and immediately both he and Skye jumped out, running across the road and up a walkway leading to the small park.

“This place is quite nice.” Skye commented as they emerged from the walkway and into the main park area, decorated with flowerbeds.

“It won’t be when it’s crawling with cops.” Grant muttered under his breath, urging Skye to move faster.

 

“Thomas, you missed them!” Gramsy said, rather sad that her grandson and his girlfriend had to leave so suddenly. “The cops caught their trail, and they had to go.”

“I’m sure they’ll take care of it quickly, Gramsy.” Thomas soothed. He’d also made contact with S.H.I.E.L.D., and the agent he’d spoken to, Melinda May, was very happy to receive the news.

“Oh, I hope so…” her trail of thought was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door.

“I’ll get it.” Thomas insisted, and jumped up to answer it. Gramsy followed, ambling along in her sadness. “Evening, officers.” He greeted, not at all surprised to see the police at the door.

“Evening. Ma’am.” The cops gave brusque replies, tipping their hats when they noticed Gramsy. “We’re here on urgent business. Who is the owner of this house?”

“I am.” Gramsy put in quickly before Thomas could do much more than open his mouth. “What business?”

“The matter of a car showing up on our radar as tagged, and the same car being registered as stolen in California.” The larger of the two policemen answered.

“Oh. Well, come in then. Would you like some tea or hot chocolate?” she turned around and bustled off towards the kitchen as the cops entered the house and shut the door.

“We don’t need drinks, ma’am. We won’t be staying for long.”

Thomas was feeling very awkward, and had a hunch that these policemen were not entirely who they said they were.

 

“Grant!” Skye hissed as they ran down yet another side road that her boyfriend insisted was a direct route to Gramsy’s. “Surely running around the neighbourhood like headless chickens is going to get the cops on our tail, _again_!”

“Like headless chickens?” he whispered back, sounding utterly bemused. “And it’s the middle of the night. Most people should be asleep.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her into another walkway. “Besides, we’re nearly there.”

“Well, it’s highly likely that the police sirens woke them up!” Skye retorted, but stopped her complaints as they emerged onto Gramsy’s street, and saw the cop car parked out front.

“The other cars must be on the Lamborghini’s tracker.” Grant muttered beside her.

“Well, they don’t know it’s us they’re looking for, so we should do a walk by.” Skye thought out loud and started dragging Grant along. He just rolled his eyes, but he agreed so kept his mouth shut.

Skye looped her left arm through Grant’s right one and leaned her head on his shoulder as they strolled towards the house. As they passed the cop car, the police radio could be heard. Grant leaned in through the open window to listen.

_“Channel 616, Retrieval Unit 2, come in. Over.”_

Grant froze.

_“Retrieval Unit 2 coming in. Vehicle is empty. Over.”_

_“Channel 616. Reading you loud and clear. Retrieval Unit 1, come in. Over.”_

_“Retrieval Unit 1 coming in. We’re in. Finishing up soon. Over.”_

_“Channel 616. Good to hear. Clean it up. Over and out.”_

“Grant?” Skye was shaking him. “Grant, what’s wrong?”

He looked at her with a horrified realisation. “Channel 616 is a Hydra frequency.”

Skye’s eyes widened and her breathing hitched. “They’re inside.”

“God, no.” Grant bolted for the front door, Skye right behind him. However, just as they reached the middle of the pathway, a gurgled shriek was heard and cut off. Shouting accompanied it, followed by gunshots. “Skye, stay outside!” Grant ordered as he charged into the house.

As much as Skye knew she could help, she remained just outside the door, the gun in her waistline retrieved, cocked and aimed towards the open doorway. Just as well.

More gunshots rang out, more than one sounding like it had hit its mark. Footsteps rushed to the front door, their owner one of the cops. He came to a halt, taking in the sight of a prettily dressed woman holding a gun aimed at him. He laughed. “Honey, both of us know you’re not capable of taking the shot.”

Skye didn’t bother bantering. Gramsy was likely dead, Thomas with her and Grant could possibly be joining them. She shot him directly between the eyes and stepped over his body, her May mask in place.

Low grunts could be heard from the living room, and Skye followed it, rounding the corner into a bloodbath. The movement on the floor distinguished itself as Grant and another cop wrestling over a hand gun. Sparing a glance for the mutilated body of Gramsy (Skye would never be able to get that out of her mind) and Thomas’ gasping form, slumped against the far wall, she took aim at the Hydra agent’s leg and fired. He yelled out in agony and ripped himself out of Grant’s grasp, huddling over his wound.

Grant scrambled for the gun and twisted around to find that Skye had already shot the cop in the head. “We could’ve gotten more information out of him!”

“He would’ve stalled! The other unit’s already found the car, so they’re probably on their way here. Both you and Thomas need the hospital.” Skye countered, flicking the safety back on her gun and stuffing down the back of her pants. “Where were you hit?”

“I’m fine, they just grazed the sides. Tommy’s the one who needs the care.” Grant dismissed his injuries, something had hadn’t yet learned to undo.

Skye nodded. “Well, find something to stop the bleeding, I’ll check on your brother.” She said as she moved to the dying man. However, one look at the bullet holes in his abdomen, and Skye knew he was a goner. She looked into his eyes and saw the understanding there. He knew he was going to die.

“How can you say you love my brother and then act like that?” he rasped, but he could see why Grant was willing to give her another chance.

Skye grimaced. “My S.H.I.E.L.D. training.” She returned in a low voice. “I’ve done worse, believe me.”

“Wow.” He whispered hoarsely, then coughed up blood. “A perfect match.” He made a sickening laugh.

“Careful.” Skye warned.

Thomas Ward just looked at her and breathed his last.

 

Melinda May landed the jet in the middle of the soccer field and wasted no time in getting to the house of Thomas Ward. She arrived to find it cordoned off and swarming with police.

 _I’m too late._ She thought, despairing. Hardening her expression, she marched right up to the officer in charge and demanded that she be let in. After flashing her S.H.I.E.L.D. badge and giving the officer a glare, she was allowed in without complaint, and she immediately headed for the house.

Finding blood splatters around the doorframe and stretching back into the hallway, May’s upper lip curled in disgust.

“We found one of our guys shot between the eyes.” A policeman said, walking over. “He was facing outwards, and from what forensics thinks, it was almost point blank range.”

 _Ward did this._ May thought confidently as the cop continued.

“So she was standing here,” he moved to take up the position Skye had occupied hours earlier. “And fired upwards.”

“Sorry, ‘she’?” May questioned, wondering if her hearing was going.

“Based on eyewitness reports and the trajectory of the shot, we can almost definitely say the shooter was female. And," he hurried past May. “The footprints left in the blood indicate that she was a size 8.” He looked up to see the woman had gone completely still. “Ma’am?”

May glanced at him, almost too shocked for words. “What was the officer’s name?”

“Officer Mark Jenkins, ma’am.”

“Please stop calling me ‘ma’am’.” May said absently. _Surely Skye wouldn’t have done this without good reason. Was he threatening Ward?_ In any case, May was determined to follow every lead. “Are there any more?”

The policeman grimaced. “Yes. Three bodies in the living room. Two shot, one…mutilated. It’s being taken care of as we speak.”

“I’d like to take a look.”

He nodded sullenly, and led the way down the hall, careful not to step on any blood spots. May sucked in a breath as the crime scene came into view.

The officer wasn’t exaggerating. The old woman, who from Thomas’ report could only be Ward’s grandmother, was covered in blood. Her skin was torn and sliced. The attacker had been ruthless.

“Amelia Dorothy Ward.” The man beside her said, regaining her attention. “She’s the owner of this place. Or was.”

“How exactly did she die?”

“She bled out. We think, and hope, that her death was quick.”

May took this in. Despite her less-than-impressed view of Grant Ward and the deaths of his family, whether or not it was true that he killed them, she doubted that he was the killer of a woman he had affectionately referred to as ‘Gramsy’. “And the others?” she asked, wanting to be done with this.

“Thomas Michael Ward, younger sibling of the late Senator Ward. And Officer Dominic Cole.”

May moved further into the room. “No question as to how they died.”

“It appears though, that Mr Ward died after Officer Cole.” The man informed her. “And I doubt the shooter was working alone. Neighbours reported hearing gunshots from within the house before she entered, and there are signs of a struggle on both the floor and Officer Cole’s attire.”

“Good to know we’re on the same page.” May looked up from the bodies with a tight-lipped smile. “May I know your name?”

“Officer Jose Tavares, ma’am.” The smile dropped and Tavares gulped. “Sorry.”

“Unfortunate we meet under these circumstances, Officer Tavares. I’m Agent Melinda May, with S.H.I.E.L.D.” she reached out for a handshake and was met with a stunned look.

“I’ve heard of you.” He said in awe, finally noticing the hand held out to him and quickly shaking it.

May merely inclined her head before heading back to her jet.

As soon as she was clear of the police cordon, May reached into her pocket and pulled out her SAT phone.

“Phil.” She greeted as soon as he answered.

_“Hey, May. How was it?”_

“I was too late. Four bodies, two of them cops, but I’m suspicious of their alliances.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment. _“Oh, jeez. Who were the others?”_

“Ward’s younger brother, and his grandmother.” Her more-than-usual bluntness told Coulson more than he perhaps wanted to hear.

_“How bad is it?”_

“She was killed quickly, but only because she bled out so easily. Thomas was shot multiple times in the abdomen. There was no chance for him.”

_“Do you think it was Ward?”_

May glanced around before answering. “No. If only because Skye wouldn’t still be with him if it was.”

_“Fair enough. How soon ‘til you land?”_

“Four hours tops. And tell FitzSimmons that I want full background checks on Officers Mark Jenkins, Dominic Cole and Jose Tavares by the time I get back.”

 _“That might be a bit much in only four hours, May. I’ll see you soon.”_ And with that, he hung up.

Placing the phone back in her pocket, May walked back up the ramp of the quinjet, shooed the children who were playing ‘Spacemen’ out of it, and took off.

 

Grant didn’t get very far into the shabby motel room before he dropped to his knees, his shoulders shaking with grief. Skye had tears pouring down her cheeks, but knew that she had to be his rock, so she kept the crying to a minimum.

“Grant.” She said softly. “Come on, let’s get you on the bed.” Gently, she eased him to his feet and he staggered to the bed. “Come on, Grant. Easy does it.” It took her several minutes to get him lying down, shoes, jeans and jacket off, and she snuggled into his front as he was laying on his side.

Slowly, Grant reached out his right arm and slid it around Skye’s waist, drawing her closer. “It’s all my fault.” He stuttered out between the sobs. “I drew them there. They were after me, and I led them right to my family.”

“Grant.” Skye said comfortingly. “Look at me.” His saddened gaze met hers, tears filling both pairs of eyes. “Hydra are after _us_ , yes. But the destruction they leave in their wake is not your fault, or my fault, but theirs and theirs alone.” She swept a hand through his hair affectionately. “You did not kill your family. So stop blaming yourself.”

“If I’d never gone with John–”

“You can’t change the past, Grant. What you can do is use it to do better.”

“Do better with what? Turn myself in?”

“Fight back. Hydra is hell bent on finding us because we could potentially be the tipping point of the war.” Grant looked at her, not entirely sure where she was going with this. “So, my beloved Grant Ward,” Skye continued, adding to the ‘beloved’ comment with a quick kiss. “How do you want to use that power?”


	10. Using Their Power

“Did you do what I asked?” May announced, striding into the lounge area of the Bus where Coulson, Simmons and Fitz were standing. The scientists had their research layering the screens of the holocomm.

“Well, hello to you too, Agent May.” Fitz quipped in reply. His frustrations were derived from his desperation to clear Ward of any suspicion in regards to his family’s death, and there was hardly anything incriminating on any of the officers. At May’s glare, he muttered a “Sorry.”

“We’ve been looking, May.” Simmons said, aiming to relieve the tension that had clouded the room. “Unfortunately, all we’ve been able to find is a few parking tickets for Dominic Cole, an overnight arrest under Jose Tavares’ name, and Mark Jenkins is perfectly clean.”

“Except for his misogynistic views.” Fitz added in.

“Everyone’s clean first time around.” Coulson said, beckoning to May. “Keep at it.”

“Yes, sir.” They chorused, and May followed Coulson to his office.

“What did you think was suspicious about the cops?” the Director asked once he’d closed the door behind him. “If they had another agenda–”

“I think they were Hydra, and the killers of Ward’s family.” His Deputy interrupted. A stunned silence followed her words, and she continued. “I can’t think of any other way that Thomas and Amelia Ward would have died. When Thomas reported it in, he said he was only doing it so that his brother would realise how toxic Skye is for him.”

“Skye? Toxic for Ward?” Coulson’s brows merged in confusion, his expression saying that he was almost offended by the possibility. “If anything, she’s saving him.”

May nodded in agreement. “I disagreed with what he was saying about Skye, but I suppose most of that resentment stemmed from Skye shooting Ward in San Juan.”

“But you couldn’t pass up an opportunity to bring Ward in.”

May sucked in a large breath. “I also think that Skye killed both cops. Which only strengthens my belief that they were Hydra.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow at her. “Skye killed them. At point blank range? She wouldn’t do that.”

May levelled him with a flat look. “I think you underestimate what Skye is capable of. One was at the door, blocking her path to the family, and the other was probably trying to kill Ward. The scuff marks on the carpet indicate that the cop was shot in the leg during the fight, and killed a few seconds after. And not by Ward.”

Running footsteps grabbed their attention, and Fitz opened the door. “Sir, we found something.” He was heading back down the stairs before either of them could respond. The pair of them quickly followed.

“Okay, Fitz. What did you find?” Coulson asked as soon as he and May were standing by the holocomm.

“Well, we used the Trojan horse that Skye created to hack into Cybertek, rewrote the system to suit the Hydra database that connected to it and found…this.” He pulled up two files.

“It appears that Officers Mark Jenkins and Dominic Cole were Hydra members concealed within the Massachusetts Police Department since before S.H.I.E.L.D. fell.” Simmons continued. “Not as clean as we thought.”

May gave Coulson a look that plainly said _I told you so._ Looking back at Simmons, she jerked her chin at the files up on the screen. “What about Tavares?”

“There’s no mention of him in the database. Unfortunately, the parts we have access to are only a small segment. He could be Hydra, but we have no evidence.” Fitz replied, his brow furrowed. Simmons placed a hand on his shoulder and he relaxed a little.

“So, considering what little we _do_ know, it’s a good thing that Officer Tavares is still alive.” She finished for him. Coulson nodded slowly as he processed what he had just been told. “Sir?”

The Director turned round when Simmons spoke, her voice tentative. “I was just wondering how Ward and Skye are going to react to this.”

“Well, considering the brutality of Hydra towards anyone not fully committed to their goals–” she began to say.

“I think it’s safe to say that Ward and Skye would never willingly walk into their hands.” Fitz added.

May felt more confident than ever that Skye knew what she was doing. _Ward’s gonna really need her now._

Grant took a while to calm down enough to fall asleep, Skye cradling his head and pressing her lips against his temple. When he woke, however, he was still in his state of self-blame.

“I’ve done some terrible things, Skye.” He whispered, half-terrified that she would outright agree and say her being with him was a mistake.

“So have I.” Skye soothed, peppering his face with tiny kisses. “We justified them with reasons and excuses because we believed that the end result was worth it. You wanted to save someone’s life, whatever it took. Like Coulson did. And I wanted secret information to be released to the public for them to decide for themselves what to with it. But when Romanoff did just that, the world went to shit. We tried to do things we thought was noble and worthy, but when we reached those goals, they blew up in our faces.”

He just looked at her with that sad expression. Skye sighed internally, and thanked whatever gods were out there that Grant loved her enough to never walk away, even if he thought it was the best thing for her.

“You promised me that you would never leave, no matter what. So this is me promising _you_ the exact same thing.” She stated, her determination like fire in her gaze. Hope sparked in Grant’s eyes, accentuating the love that was already there.

 

**1 MONTH LATER…**

Grant and Skye rushed around the corner, pressed themselves to the brick wall and sank to the floor, their arms touching. Their breathing was ragged, but thanks to their training they evened it out fairly quickly. Glancing at each other, they laughed in delight at their success.

“Any second now…” Grant said, mere moments before an explosion destroyed the central section of the Hydra factory. Skye closed her eyes and focused on harnessing the vibrations caused by the bomb to bring down the rest of the building, while limiting the blast radius to the perimeter of the factory. Screams rent the air, echoed by shouts of outrage. Grant kept flicking his attention between Skye as she crumbled the walls, and watching their surroundings, in case any guards found them.

“Done.” Skye opened her eyes as the last of the structure fell inwards. “God, I have so much adrenaline rushing through me right now.”

“Well,” Grant paused as he took out two guards before they spotted them. “I’m sure I could take care of that for you.” He winked at her and she grinned lazily in return.

“I’m sure you could. Let’s go. There’s too much death here for my liking.” She stood and stretched. “We should probably cut that bit out.”

“Why? It’s not like they won’t have figured it out.” Grant smirked as he rose to his feet. He took her hand in his and started leading her away from the wreckage.

“Because it would make them very uncomfortable! I know you wanna boast, which is why you bring it up every damn time–”

“Skye. We’ve been together for more than a month, you’re still on your S.H.I.E.L.D. birth control and we use condoms. There really isn’t anything for them to worry about.”

“Except, it’s _you_ that I’m with. And you know how pissed off Coulson and May would get!”

Grant let out a deep sigh. Skye was stubborn on this subject. “Did you get much info from this one?”

“Not as much as I hoped.” She grumbled, knowing he was wanting to change the subject. “I don’t know how much help this one’s going to be.”

“Every little bit helps.” He tried to comfort her.

“I know, it’s just…” she trailed off, a frown creasing her forehead.

Grant opened the door to the van they’d stolen a few weeks ago and Skye got in. Leaning one arm on the door and one on the frame, he waited until she was looking at him. “We’ve given them everything we could from dozens of Hydra bases, factories and safe houses. They’re going to appreciate anything we give them because it gives them and the government more of an advantage.”

Skye smiled back at him and leaned down to give him a kiss. “We should get going.”

“Yeah.” Grant murmured, trying to get another peck.

Skye giggled. “Come on, you loony, get in.”

 

Grant stretched out his limbs, peeking one eye open as he reached for Skye and found nothing but rumpled sheets where she lay.

“Skye!” he called out. He checked the clock by his bedside. “It’s nearly four in the morning, what are you doing up?” He threw the covers off himself and stood. “Skye?”

“I’m through here!” she shouted back. “And since it’s four in the morning, do you mind keeping your voice down?”

Following her voice, Grant wandered down the short hallway and into the kitchen that the little house had, overlooking the small town of which it bordered. Skye turned her head to look at him as he came into view and snorted.

“You couldn’t get dressed?” she asked, turning back to the mixture that she was whisking thoroughly.

“Who else is here?” Grant countered, his hands subconsciously giving a half shrug as he walked over to her. “What are you making?”

“Cupcakes. They’re one of the few things I _have_ learned to do in a kitchen.” She replied, a smile sneaking its way onto her face as Grant stood behind her, pressing up against her back. “Plus, I couldn’t sleep.”

“Well,” Grant started, unable to keep the smirk off his face as he nuzzled into the crook of Skye’s neck. “We could’ve done something else with that.” Skye laughed. “That smells really good though, is that chocolate?”

Skye laughed louder. “Yes it is. And for the record, you were asleep when I got up. So, no we weren’t going to delve into that _again_ tonight.”

“You could’ve woken me.”

“No, Grant. You need to rest.”

“I need to rest about as much as you do, so why are you trying to pull the wool over my eyes?”

Skye sighed, and placed the bowl and whisk down on the bench. “I had a craving for chocolate cupcakes, okay? Probably ‘cause I haven’t had them a _really_ long time.”

Grant blinked. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to push.”

“You didn’t, Grant.” She turned around and hugged him. “You’re right, I need to rest as well.”

“How about we cover the batter, and you can continue baking them when you wake up?” he suggested.

“I’ve already got the oven heated up…” she mused.

“We can reheat it when you’re less tired.” Grant assured her. “Now go on. I’ll tidy up and join you.” Skye nodded and reached up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “Go on.”

“I’m going! Jeez, Mr. Bossy…” she sashayed off, leaving Grant standing in the middle of the kitchen, naked, rolling his eyes.

“Great!” he sarcastically enthused. “Another nickname.”


	11. The Leak

“Cupcake?”

The single word, accompanied by the voice that said it and the delicious smell of chocolate, had Skye snapping her head up as though her life depended on that fast reaction.

“Yes, please!” she said with a grin. Grant chuckled and handed it to her. He finished making them this morning, and Skye had been so impatient for one, she’d eaten the first one almost straight out of the oven. It was a few hours on, though, and this cupcake was cooled to an appropriate temperature.

Pulling out the chair next to her at the tiny dining table, Grant took a look at what her laptop screen displayed. “What are you working on?”

“You know how we had that Hydra trouble a while back?” Skye replied after a moment, partly because she had all but stuffed the cupcake into her mouth, and partly because she was hesitant about giving him this answer.

“Yeah…” Grant’s expression fell as her recalled the horrific scene in his grandmother’s house.

“Well, I’m hacking into and wiping the Hydra database of anything they might find useful. Which is…probably all of it.”

“You’re clearing the _entire_ database of a worldwide organisation?” Grant couldn’t believe his ears. He knew she was good, the best even. But _that_ good?

“Yep.” She turned to face him with a look of mischievous innocence. “What, you don’t think I can?”

Grant shook his head almost absent-mindedly. “I seen the stuff you do with café WiFi in your van, but destroying Hydra’s intel from a laptop?”

Skye let out a dramatic sigh. “Do you remember how I got the Cybertek info without breaking into their headquarters?”

“Should I…?”

“At the Cuba barbershop where Garrett had his super-secret underground lair, you left behind a computer system.”

He looked at her sideways. “That was hidden.”

She shrugged. “Secret doors are kind of Coulson’s thing.”

“I thought that was old stuff.” He said with a confused face.

Skye waved a hand in dismissal. “Anyway, I had planted a Trojan horse on the hard drive that you kidnapped me for, and all I needed to do was wake it up. Found the HQ in minutes.” She beamed with pride at her own genius, and Grant couldn’t blame her; he felt the same.

He sat back in his chair. “Huh.” was all he seemed to be able to say. Another thought occurred to him. “But what does this have to do with what you’re doing?”

“ _Because_ ,” she stressed the word, evidently frustrated that he wasn’t catching on. “The Trojan horse is still imbedded in Hydra’s systems. A way to keep track of what it’s doing, I suppose, but I can use it without alerting them.”

“That’s brilliant.” Grant said with a grin. “So, what, you ping the signal off the satellites they use?”

“Uh huh.” Skye nodded. “You see, last night got me thinking.” She stopped talking to give Grant a flat stare. He’d sat up straight in his seat and was exaggerating how much he was paying attention. “Grant.” He relaxed back into his previous position with a grin. “You know you need to work on your sense of humour, right?”

He shrugged.

Shaking her head, she continued. “We didn’t get much intel from the base, so I was considering other ways in which we could help S.H.I.E.L.D. without putting our lives at risk, other people’s lives at risk and generally not destroying property.”

“But that part’s so much fun!” he mock-whined. He sobered up at her look. “Gotta stop looking on the dark side all the time, Rookie.”

“Whatever.” She muttered. “So I thought of using an old device of mine to hack my way into their records. I’ll leave a secure copy for S.H.I.E.L.D. to find, don’t worry.” She turned the laptop screen around so the Grant could look at it with more ease and sat back, stretching her arms above her head. A pain spiked through her abdomen and she winced, her hands jumping down to cover her stomach. Grant noticed immediately and reached out a hand in concern.

“You alright?”

Skye let out a breath, and cursing internally when it came out shaky. “Yeah.” She smiled at him. “Just a muscle that aches a bit.”

Grant didn’t look entirely convinced, but accepted her excuse. At least, for now. “Well, since it looks like we won’t be bothered by Hydra for a while, how about we go somewhere. Out of the country.”

“What did you have in mind?” Skye was glad for the change in subject, but intended to check out whatever was causing the sharp pain in her lower torso.

He shrugged with a pout that nearly made Skye laugh out loud, she saw that expression on him so rarely. “Last I heard, your dad was still alive.” When Skye stiffened, he hurriedly continued. “I think you should give him a chance, Skye.”

“He’s a monster.” She whispered, wrapping her arms around herself.

“You thought the same of me at some point. Yes, he’s volatile, but I’ll be right there with you. You won’t be alone with him this time.” He reassured her and slowly, her tight grip of her body lessened.

“Do you know where he is?”

“Hunan Province.”

Skye looked up in surprise.

“We got along in San Juan. He helped me out after you shot me, and we stayed in touch.”

Skye’s mouth hung open a little bit in shock, but that subsided as she thought over what he had said. “You sympathised.”

He nodded. “He lost everything, then lost himself. I told him about what I’d done and how much I’d screwed things up, and he encouraged me to fight for you, at the very least.”

It took Skye a few moments to answer. “Well, I’m glad you listened.” She said in a quiet voice. Grant just smiled, silently agreeing.

 

“May!” Fitz yelled out, racing through the corridors of The Playground. “HEY, MAY!”

“What, Fitz?” May’s faint voice called back, sounding a little echoic. The scientist followed it until he found her in the training room, sparring with Bobbi.

“We’ve…we’ve got more.” He stuttered out, bending over with his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Both women, locked in a struggle, stopped and looked over at him. Glancing at each other they broke apart and approached the man.

“Skye and Ward found _more_ information?” Bobbi asked incredulously. “If Skye could snag intel from bases as rapidly as that, why weren’t we doing it before?”

“Coulson preferred having her trained as a field agent, her hacking skills put aside unless directly needed for the mission.” May answered her, wiping a towel across her sweaty forehead. “It made sense at the time. And being paired up with Ward has likely helped her. Location of bases–”

“General security details, I got it.” Bobbi nodded. She turned back to Fitz, who had regained his breath. Mostly. “How much this time?”

“Ahh…from the base they just blew up a couple of days ago, not as much as usual.” His foot tapped anxiously.

“But?” May prompted.

“But Skye’s just sent us over the entire database.”

There was silence for a moment. Then both May and Bobbi bombarded him with questions.

“Database?”

“Of who? Hydra?”

“How did she do that?”

“How much information is _on_ that?”

Fitz held up his hands desperately, completely overwhelmed by their outburst. “Whoa, whoa! One at a time, jeez!” They quieted, looking amused, and he filled them in. “It’s Hydra’s database, from what she said, and she did it was through the Trojan horse that she embedded into Cybertek’s systems while bouncing the signal off the satellites Hydra uses. And it’s a lot.”

“’Lot’ is a very vague term, Fitz.” Bobbi urged.

“…You’ll have to see for yourself.” Fitz was out the door before either one of them could question him on it.

 

Pain erupted in Skye’s belly, forcing her to sit upright as her body instinctively clenched. “Ah!” she breathed out, her agony unmistakeable in her voice. Checking that Grant was still asleep, she slipped out of bed as gently as she could manage and made her way to the bathroom. Collapsing on the floor, she breathed slowly and deeply through the pain, and leaned against the wall by the toilet. It was then that she noticed the spots of blood trailing the bathroom floor, and the panic that set in halted her breathing for some terrifying moments. _No, no, no, no. How could I…?_ She sat on the bathroom tiles for a while, struggling to make sense of what was happening through the agony that racked her insides. _I’m not cut, I would know…and the pain’s inside me…how?!?_

“Ugh, when this dies away, I’m definitely having a cupcake.” She muttered to herself. Then she froze. “Shit!”

It all made sense now. The extra food she’d been eating without packing on the pounds, the cupcakes she so desperately craved at half past three in the morning, the extra horny bouts that took over her, the embarrassment of S.H.I.E.L.D. finding out some of the details of her and Grant’s sex life, being angry over trivial things, being more tired than usual.

“I’m miscarrying.” She whispered. The tears began to well up and fall down her face, her sudden despair at the loss of something before she’d even known she’d had it a huge weight upon her consciousness. She didn’t even notice that Grant was awake and had found her before he was holding her face, speaking words that she couldn’t understand.


	12. Finding the Silver Lining

“Skye!” Grant shouted, his hands grasping both sides of her face. “Skye!” The panic in him that started when he found blood spots instead of Skye in their bed escalated when her eyes barely focused on his face. Breathing heavily, he looked around, taking note of the blood trail that he’d followed; it was thickening as the blood leaked out in a steady stream. Glancing back, he was devastated to see the tears tracks on her cheeks. “Skye, can you hear me? Please, Skye, answer me!” he begged.

Gradually, Skye’s vision focused properly, her gaze meeting his. Blinking a few times to clarify what she was seeing, she hiccupped as she got her breathing back under control. “Grant, I…” the hand she raised to touch his face dropped again as she burst into tears. “I’m so sorry!” she choked out between sobs. “I lost it and…and I didn’t even know I had it!”

“Lost what?” Grant desperately tried to get an answer from her, completely out of his depth. He didn’t know what to do with crying women, and seeing Skye in hysterics was making his system go haywire. “Skye?”

When she didn’t answer him, he lifted the hem of her nightie, exposing her panties. Grant stifled a gasp. The small pair of underwear that she had worn to bed was soaked through.

“Skye, were you…” he trailed off, not knowing how to finish the question.

Skye nodded, her bottom lip trembling as she fought to hold in her sobs. “I miscarried.” She whispered. She brought her hands up to her face, covering them as she couldn’t bear to see his expression.

Grant let out a shaking breath and drew a hand down his face. While he was upset that he’d lost a child that he hadn’t even known he’d had, he was comforted by the fact that it took more than a month of explosions, killing and life threatening situations for their child to lose its grip on life.

“Skye, look at me, please. We need to get you cleaned up and then we can talk about it. Okay?” he ducked his head to look into her eyes as she peeked through the gaps between her fingers.

She nodded shakily. “Okay.”

 

Not bothering to shower and change before looking at what Skye and Ward had sent over, May and Bobbi followed Fitz through The Playground. As the scientist scurried into a seat in front of the wall of computer screens, he tapped a few buttons on the keyboard to bring up the intel. It took a several minutes for all the documents to layer themselves over one another, the agents looking at each other to confirm that they were indeed seeing the same thing.

“I told you you had to see it.” Fitz declared with a hint of a smug smile playing on his lips.

“Are you sure it’s Skye, and not Hydra trying to mess with us?” Bobbi asked once the information had all been systematically sorted and filed.

“I’m sure.” Fitz said confidently. “She adds a little something into the algorithm so that I know it’s her. Some…private thing that we share. It’s different each time. And also, if Hydra knew where to send this, the intel suggests that they have more than enough resources to wipe us off the face of the planet.”

“Even with their recent losses.” May added.

“Yeah.” He spun around on the chair to face them. “Jemma, come look!” he called to someone behind the women. They glanced around to see Simmons put whatever she was working on down, and hurry over to them. “Skye just sent us a _lot_ of stuff.”

“From where?”

“The Hydra database.” Fitz relished the look of shock on his best friend’s face.

“She hacked into the _Hydra_ database?”

“Using the Trojan horse that they stupidly left in their systems.”

Simmons frowned. “But wouldn’t they have figured out how to use it by now?”

“That’s a good point.” Bobbi said.

“And they could trace us here.” May added, falling silent as Fitz waved his arms around.

“Relax! Skye is the one who created it, remember? She’s encrypted its access so that it can only be accessed here, or remotely by her. _And_ she’s hidden the location.” He glanced between the three women. “Do you really expect her not to think of everything?”

 

Once the blood had been scrubbed off the wooden floors, and the sheets and clothes that Skye was wearing were left in the tub to soak, Grant gently led her to their bedroom. Skye sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor, terrified that Grant would leave her if he thought that she had an inability to carry a child to term. Though she knew that it was ridiculous thought to have, and she would have done everything she could to comfort another woman in her shoes, the shock of miscarrying still lingered and had every nerve on edge.

“Skye, relax.” Grant murmured, sitting further back and pulling Skye onto his lap. “I don’t blame you.”

“How could you not?” she nearly shrieked, sitting up straight. “I was the one who was carrying it!” Grant set his lips in a firm line, his arms around Skye’s waist. “Which means that _I’m_ the one who can’t have a baby!” Tears spilled down her cheeks again, Grant’s hand immediately moving to wipe them away.

“Think about it logically, Skye.” He soothed, running his hand down her arm. “How far along would you have to be to feel that much pain?”

“I don’t know.”

“Far enough along to be having cravings, mood swings and an increased sex drive.” He said with utter surety.

Skye looked at him suddenly. “If you knew I was pregnant, why did you pretend you didn’t?”

“I didn’t until I noticed where the blood was coming from. Then I pieced the parts together.” Grant chuckled at his own obliviousness. Skye didn’t laugh, just looking at him sadly. “Skye, I would estimate you were almost a month along–”

“How could you be so sure?”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. sent me on some missions that ended up with me having to assist a pregnant woman in some way. They were usually much more along than you were, so you weren’t as obvious to me.” Skye nodded at his explanation and settled back into his arms.

“You were pretty sure about when I got pregnant.” She mumbled after a minute.

“Well, I’m basing it on the one time we didn’t use a condom, so…about four weeks ago?”

Skye laughed with him, snuggling her face into the crook of his neck. “But why didn’t my birth control work?”

Grant didn’t know how to answer that. “Ask Simmons?” he said in a confused voice. Skye giggled and pressed her lips against his neck, pushing him backwards until he was lying on the bed. “You know I’m not gonna give up, right?”

“Give up what?” Skye asked as she moved so she was straddling his hips.

“Us having a baby. It took a month’s worth of blowing up bases to miscarry, so we’ll be a lot more gentle the next time around, okay?” he smiled at her, not wanting her to give up hope.

Thankfully, she smiled back. “You want a next time?”

“Sure.” Grant slid his arms down her back and teasingly squeezed her backside. “Just…maybe not when we’re about to run all over the world, yeah?” Smiling, Skye nodded. She leaned forward and kissed him, then pulled back to lay on his chest.

“When can we go see my dad?”

“We can leave tomorrow if you want.” He felt her nod against his chest.

“Yes, please.”

 

A knock on his office door jolted Coulson to awareness.

“Come on in.” he called, fighting off a yawn. May stepped into his office and he gave up even pretending to be more than half-asleep.

“Sleeping at your desk again?”

“Mph.” he grunted, slumping back into his seat.

“You’re going to want to be awake for this one, Phil.” May sat down on the edge of his desk and her words grabbed the Director’s attention. “We found the locations of the weapons that Garrett broke out of the Fridge.”

“How?” Coulson was flabbergasted.

“Skye and Ward. Skye found a way to use the Trojan horse that Hydra left imbedded in their systems. She got everything.”

“… _everything?_ ”

“Yup. And, she’s encrypted it so that no one else outside of this base can access it. Except for her.”

“Won’t Hydra be looking for it?” Coulson sat up straighter, much more awake.

“Maybe, if Skye wiped their database while she was in there. But she’s completely hidden it from their sight.”

Coulson grinned like a child given candy. “Finally, some good news.” Standing up, he subtly hinted for May to do the same. “Get teams ready. We need to strike as soon as possible.”

“Copy that.” May replied, walking out of the office with a small smile.

 

Grant found himself nearly wanting to pull his hair out of his head. Skye was fussing way beyond normal, and was rushing around the house, quadruple-checking everything.

“Ugh, Skye! I’ve already packed everything! Let’s go!” he called out to her while she was in their bedroom.

“I’m just making sure we’ve got everything!” she shouted back. “I mean, it’s not like we’re coming back here, right?”

Grant threw his hands up in frustration. “Checking once is fine! Four times is way over the top!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Skye grumbled, finally moving into view and exiting the house. Grant breathed a sigh of relief and locked the door, following her to the car.

“Did you do that when you left the orphanage?” he asked rudely as he slid into the driver’s seat. Skye gave a gasp of indignation and hit him. “Hey!”

“That was uncalled for!”

“You’re the one who took so long!”

“That’s because I didn’t want to forget anything!”

Grant bit back his next argument. Skye’s demeanour was stiff, tears threatening to fall again and she held her chin high, her jaw clenched. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me.”

“Apology accepted. Can we go?”

Withholding a sigh, Grant put the car into gear and drove away from the house on the hill. There was going to be lot of grovelling to get in her good books again.


	13. A Romantic Getaway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of forewarning - this chapter contains smut. If you don't like it, don't read the last part.

Skye drummed her fingers on the table in front of her, her other hand propping up her face. She sat at a small table outside a café in the airport, her bags by her feet and the seat across from her empty. Grant had left to find a bathroom, but he’d been gone longer than was really necessary. She started to get twitchy, her toes as restless as her fingers. Looking down at the cup of coffee Grant had bought for her, especially made to how she liked it, Skye fought to keep her anxiety at bay.

 _Grant won’t leave me, he loves me._ She repeated to herself. _He loves me, he’ll come back._ Besides, she still had his stuff at her feet.

Skye’s inner monologue and downcast face blinded her to her boyfriend approaching with a couple of gifts in hand. She only looked up when he slid into the seat opposite her and placed the small bouquet of chocolate roses and a jewellery box under her gaze.

“What are these?” she asked in surprise, glancing between the gifts and Grant.

“Well,” he began. “Those are chocolate roses.” He pointed to the bouquet, and Skye smacked his arm with a huff of laughter.

“I meant, what are they for?” she asked, smiling this time.

Grant shrugged, a cute pout of nonchalance accompanying the movement. “For you.”

A half-suspicious and half-amused expression pulled at the corner of Skye’s lips as she opened the box. She gasped in delight as she saw the necklace laid out on the cushion.

“Oh my god, Grant! Is this a daisy?” she exclaimed, looking up at him with adoration.

“Yeah.” He replied with a smile. “I was trying to go for ‘Skye’, but they didn’t have a sun, and a cloud doesn’t really suit you–” he was cut off by Skye grabbing his face with both hands and pulling him into a kiss.

“Thank you.” She murmured as they pulled apart. Her hands still cradled his face, her thumbs brushing over his cheekbones softly.

Grant beamed, his eyes sparkling. “I love you.” He said in the same low tone.

“I love you too.” Skye replied, leaning forward to kiss him again. It was chaste and gentle, and both of them felt like the world had disappeared around them. Pulling apart brought to their attention the first call for their flight.

 _“All passengers for the flight at 1500 hours to Beijing, please make your way to Gate 3.”_ The intercom announced.

“That’s us.” Grant said. He removed Skye’s hands from his face and gently kissed them before picking up his bags as he stood. Skye followed suit, and left some money on the table for their server. Walking towards the gate to board the plane, Grant took hold of Skye’s hand. As per usual, his heart fluttered a little when she interlocked their fingers and squeezed his hand reassuringly. Skye smiled so sweetly up at him and his face mirrored hers in its tenderness. He was immensely proud of himself that he’d tried to have another chance with her, but he didn’t know what he’d do if she rejected him again. That worry caused his thoughts to walk along a darker path as he remembered the age-old lesson that Garrett taught him. _Love is a weakness_.

Noticing the slight change in his gaze, Skye internally sighed. She had a feeling that he wasn’t unaffected by what Garrett had done to him. No doubt his thoughts had segued into the whole feelings-are-a-weakness trope.

“Grant.” She said softly, yet firmly. He glanced at her, making eye contact, but looked away just as quickly. Panic flared up within Skye at the signs that he was shutting her out. “Grant, look at me.” She said in the same tone, proud of herself that her fear hadn’t shown in her voice. She halted, letting her arm follow Grant until their interlocked hands prevented him from going anywhere without resistance. The love of her life turned to face her, but his gaze was on the ground, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Not looking away from his face, Skye placed her bags on the ground and reached up to once again cup his face in her hands. Gently, she tilted his chin until his face aligned in parallel with hers. However, his eyes refused to meet her gaze, and Skye realised that underneath that stubbornness was a sea of fears.

Taking a deep breath, Skye gave Grant a small peck on the lips. He responded, his bottom lip pushing outwards as if to follow hers. That alleviated some of Skye’s worries.

“Sweetheart.” She whispered. “Look at me, please.”

Slowly, Grant flicked his eyes up to meet hers. Skye saw a mixture of fear, hope and love, alongside remnants of haunting memories. His lips twitched as he fought to keep them from trembling.

“I can’t get rid of it.” He whispered, as though he were afraid he might be punished if someone overheard him. “I can’t stop him, Skye, I…” he struggled to find the words to describe the crushing despair that accompanied thoughts of Garrett.

“I understand, Grant.” She soothed. “And I don’t blame you. You are a good man, no matter what horrors you’ve faced.”

“But you know what I’ve done, Skye. I can’t ignore that.” He said in a broken whisper, tears welling up and threatening to fall.

“Let me tell you something that a great man once said.” Skye said firmly.

“A great man?”

“A very great man.” She nodded. “He said that we all have light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we choose to act on.” Grant’s expression didn’t change. “Grant, the past is the past. The choices you make now are the ones that matter to me.” She gave a soft laugh. “We’ve been through them all, on both sides.”

“Who is this great man?” he asked after a few seconds.

Skye was careful to make her description of Sirius Black as relatable to Grant as possible. “Someone who grew up in a family that was no family to him. He spent years in prison blaming himself for something he had no control over, and was labelled a wanted man because he had the nerve to make amends in whatever way he could. He was loved and treasured by those who gave him a chance and was loyal almost to a fault.” She was smiling now, radiating her sincerity, and Grant had lost the haunting look in his eyes. “I mean, his animal persona was a dog. How much more loyal could you get?” she lightly teased, and was delighted when he laughed.

“Animal persona?” he asked, confused.

“You have really got to read _Harry Potter_.” She answered, the amused glint still in her eye. Gazing at him adoringly, Skye raised her right hand to run it through his hair. “I think it might really appeal to you.”

His heart full of love and wonder, Grant leaned down and captured Skye’s lips with his own, his free hand winding around her waist as he pulled her flush against him. Skye happily kissed him back, parting her lips to deepen the embrace, but pulling back before they got too frisky in an airport. She could swear she heard him moan as the kiss ended.

“As much as I enjoy this, sweetheart,” she breathed. “China’s waiting, and none too patiently.”

Grant chuckled, sending shivers down her spine and pools of warmth between her legs. “As you wish, my love.”

 

They boarded the plane without any hassle, but the pair of them half-expected S.H.I.E.L.D. to have placed a tag on their IDs. Finding their seats by the emergency exit (Skye rolled her eyes when she noticed that; of course Grant would have bought these seats specifically), they stowed their carry-ons in the overhead luggage compartment and settled into the seats closest to the window, Grant being in the middle of the row.

The plane was a large Boeing 747, complete with three lanes of seats and two aisles running the length of the aircraft. Skye was used to being on a large plane, but she’d never flown on a commercial flight before, and paid attention to everything.

“Anyone would think you’d never been inside a plane before.” Grant observed from her right. His eyes glinted with the same amusement that pulled his mouth into a smirk. Skye just gave him deadpan look.

“The only planes I’ve been on have been the Bus and quinjets.” She replied, turning her head to look out the window at the tarmac.

“Well, I’m _almost_ entirely sure that the tarmac on runways doesn’t differ all too much.” His dry remark elicited a bark of laugher from Skye, who lightly punched him on the shoulder.

The couple were mostly quiet during the flight, just enjoying being together. Skye rested her head on Grant’s shoulder, and he rested his on her head. Their fingers were intertwined, thumbs rubbing gently on the backs of each other’s hands. Grant fell asleep a few hours in, Skye calling for neck pillows and fitting one under Grant’s head before she allowed herself to sleep as well.

 

Skye almost skipped into the hotel Grant had booked, wondering what other luxuries he had gotten for them. She knew that he never would have done this for himself, so it had to be because of her. She twirled around, taking in everything she could, then searched for Grant’s unmistakeable height in the crowd around her. Spotting him over by the reception desk, Skye weaved her way over to him, slipping her arm through his and smiled at the woman as she checked them in.

“I’ve already sent the bags up to the room.” Grant murmured in her ear, kissing her temple after they had been given their access card. His arm snaked over her shoulder and Skye smiled contentedly, sliding hers around his waist. “It’s mid-afternoon, so there should be enough time to entertain ourselves before dinner is served.” He grinned wickedly down at her, both of their eyes darkening with lust.

“Oh, really?” Skye played along. “And what do you have in mind to entertain us?”

“Well…”

 

Skye had barely closed the hotel door behind them when Grant was on her. His hands were everywhere; running up and down her body, finger tangling themselves in her hair and dipping into her pants. Skye wasn’t complaining. She was doing the exact same thing. Their mouths mashed together in an almost desperate attempt to be close, tongues sliding over each other and teeth grazing lower lips.

Getting frustrated with the amount of clothes between them, Skye pushed Grant’s unbuttoned plaid overshirt off his shoulders and he let it drop to the floor. Getting the black singlet off as well was proving a little more difficult, as the couple was pressed up so tightly against each other, there was definitely no room for Jesus. Nevertheless, Skye’s incessant tugging to pull the singlet off won out against Grant’s desire to touch every bit of her. With one graceful movement, he pulled the garment over his head and dropped his to his side. Skye took this opportunity to start pushing him towards the bed. As hot as being pushed up against a door while horny was, she wasn’t too eager to share their private time with passers-by.

Their lips met again in a frenzied, passionate haze. This time, Grant was the one to insist on removing tops, and almost got Skye’s hair caught as he yanked her shirt over her head. Sliding a hand around her back, Grant undid the clasp of the bra, and Skye pulled the cups away from her breasts. As always, Grant’s breath hitched at the sight. Deciding he was going to focus on those this side of dinner, he lifted Skye by her hips and laid her on the bed, her legs wrapping around his waist.

Skye let out a low moan as Grant slowly took her right nipple into his mouth, sucking and nipping at it with his teeth. His right hand kneaded her left breast, causing her back to arch up off the bed.

“Grant…” she groaned out, feeling that her panties were already wet. “Take me!”

Grant didn’t need to be told twice. Pulling a condom out of his jeans pocket, he pushed his pants and underwear down, kicking them away as he pulled Skye’s jeans down her legs agonisingly slowly. He planted a kiss to her mound as soon as that was revealed to his hungry gaze, and her legs tensed in response.

“Grant, just get on with it, or I won’t give you a blowjob later!” Skye growled out. Grant’s head snapped up and he swiftly moved to pull on the condom.

“You ready, babe?” he breathed, hovering just outside her entrance. Skye made no verbal response, preferring instead to hook her legs tightly around his waist again and pull him in.

As Grant slid home, both he and Skye let out sighs of relief and satisfaction. Then Grant started moving, Skye matching his thrusts like it was second nature to her. Her nails raking over his back as the pleasure intensified, Grant picked up the pace.

With the last few strokes, Grant climaxed, his consciousness going blank for a moment. He shuddered, but knew that Skye hadn’t come yet, so he kept going until she fell apart under him. Their breathing laboured, Grant rolled himself to her side as they caught their breaths.

“So,” he started after several moments of silence. “About that blowjob…” They both glanced at each other as he finished his sentence, and Skye grinned.


	14. 'Gordo'

Grant woke with darkness still around him, the pre-dawn gloom shrouding the bed he shared with Skye. The sheets and covers shifted as the woman next to him rolled over in her sleep. Turning his head to the side, Grant smiled at the sight of her. Her back was facing him, but the only material covering her was the sheet. The duvet had slid to her calves, and her curves were just distinguishable from the dark. He moved towards her, hooking his leg around hers and sliding his arm around her waist. Planting a kiss on her shoulder blade, he buried his face in the juncture of her neck, kissing that part of her skin softly as well.

Skye moaned quietly, stretching a little then wriggling backwards, snuggling further into Grant’s embrace. She was only just starting to wake up, but both of them felt enormously content with where they were.

“Mmm, Grant…” Skye murmured, her head turning upwards.

“Morning, Skye.” He replied gently, his voice husky from recent sleep. Lifting his own head, Grant kissed her cheek, drawing a line of them from her ear to the corner of her mouth. She sleepily responded, twisting in his arms until her front was pressed up against his. “You gonna wake up any time soon?”

“Mmmaybe.” She mumbled as her right hand slid up Grant’s chest. It wrapped around his neck and she pulled him closer, her lips searching for his with her eyes closed. Grant happily dipped his head to meet hers, lips softly connecting.

 

A couple of hours later, the pair were seated in the hotel’s breakfast bar. Grant still had a goofy grin on his face, while Skye was internally rolling her eyes. They were holding hands on top of the table, and using their free hands to eat scrambled eggs on toast and a continental breakfast.

A man appeared in the large entryway to the dining room, wearing a brown suit and a light blue tie. Scanning his eyes over the nearly empty room, he quickly found who he was looking for and strode over.

Grant glanced up and nearly choked on the bacon and tomato he was eating. “Cal.” He said in surprise as soon as his airway cleared, and the man in question stopped before them.

“Hiya.” He grinned, beaming more at Skye. Her mouth was hanging open, and was fortunate to have already swallowed her mouthful.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as soon as got over her shock. “How did you find us? We only got here yesterday!”

“Oh! Raina told me and Jiaying about this a couple of days ago.” He said as he dragged a chair from a neighbouring table over, sitting down with no grace.

“Who’s Jiaying?” Grant asked, confused. “And we only decided that we were coming here a couple of days ago, how could Raina possibly know in advance?”

“Ah, well.” Cal laughed a little. “It’s one of life’s little ironies, I suppose.” He said quietly, in a musing tone. Both Skye and Grant looked at each other, eyebrows raised in synchronisation. Then comprehension hit.

“You don’t think…” Skye trailed off.

“She’s clairvoyant.” They continued together, surprised laughs causing them to smile.

“That is ironic.” Grant said. He shook his head in wonder.

“Your people, Daisy, prefer the term ‘precognitive’.” Cal put in. “They’re a bit icky like that.”

“My people?” she nearly stuttered out.

“Yes, there are more people like you.” He smiled as his daughter and Grant shared a delighted smile of their own. “Jiaying is the leader of these people. They have a name for themselves, but I think they’d prefer to be the ones to tell you what that is.”

“You said ‘me and Jiaying’.” Grant pointed out. “How well do you know her?”

Cal’s jaw worked a little before he regained his composure. “Raina told me because I am your father.” He began, facing Skye. “And Jiaying was informed because she is the leader.” He smiled again, but it appeared more secretive. “The rest…I guess you’ll find out when we get there.”

“Get where, exactly?”

“Oh, I don’t know exactly where!” Cal laughed. “But the person who brought me here does, and he’s the one who’ll be taking us there.”

Skye and Grant glanced at each other again. “We’re still checked in here.” Grant said slowly.

“Then check out, pack your bags and we’ll be on our way!” At the uneasy expressions of the couple in front of him, he tried to put their minds at ease. “There’s already accommodation set up for you at Afterlife.”

“Afterlife?” they chorused again.

“I really should stop talking about it until we get back there.” Cal cringed. He stood, returning the chair to its original position before facing them, his hands twisting around each other. He looked at Skye, but neither of them knew what to say.

“Um…nice tie.” She finally said, breaking the awkward silence with a gesture to his accessory.

“This?” he glanced down. “I bought it especially because it was sky blue.” He looked back at his daughter, finding her wide eyed. Skye’s mouth was hanging open a little, her eyebrows raised and her gaze expressing a soft delight at his statement. Grant’s lips curved up in a small smile as he watched her, then spoke to Cal.

“We’ll finish our breakfast, then check out.”

Cal nodded and took a step backwards. “I’ll let Gordo know.” Waving his hand in the direction of which he’d come, he left Skye and Grant to their own devices.

 

“Who do you think this ‘Gordo’ guy is?” Grant queried as he and Skye wandered away from their breakfast table.

“No idea, generally speaking.” She answered with a shrug of her shoulders. “But, say this was a case. And, we had to find this guy based on what Cal told us.”

“Pieces solving a puzzle.” He murmured, remembering their conversation on the way back from Peru.

“Exactly.” Skye said, wearing the same reminiscent smile as her boyfriend.

“So, he’s called Gordo.” Grant began, slipping his arm over Skye’s shoulders.

“Did you notice the way he said it, though? Like it was something that…oh what’s the word?”

“Like he enjoyed saying his name like that.”

“Yeah.” Skye linked her fingers together and gestured slightly outwards. “So it’s a nickname.”

“An annoying one, by the sound of it.” He looked at her, smirking. “Must run in the family.”

Skye snorted. “He’s one of ‘my people’.” She continued.

“So he’s powered.” Grant stated. They reached the elevator and he pressed the button to go up.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “Cal said that he was how he got here. Maybe he’s a teleporter!” Her face lit up with excitement.

He laughed. “Or super-fast. You know, if I ever got powers, I hope you react exactly the same way that you did just then.”

Skye put her hand on her hip and looked at him thoughtfully. “What kind of powers do you think you’d have?”

“Ah…” Grant’s mind became blank. “Super…sight?”

She looked at him incredulously, then burst out laughing. “Oh, Grant.” She gasped out. The elevator dinged, and they walked inside when the doors opened. Skye continued to chuckle as Grant pressed their floor number.

“What?” he finally asked her.

“You have _no_ imagination.”

“I do too! I’m a brilliant strategist and tactician.” Grant folded his arms defensively, which only made Skye laugh harder.

“You can’t win Battleship.” She pointed out, folding her arms in slight mockery.

“Only against you.” He pouted. “And besides, Battleship’s like a computer!”

Skye raised her eyebrows, and Grant froze. “What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“Ah…well, you’re good with computers, and coding…”

“You think I code the game?”

“No! Um…you, you must have a strategy!”

“Stabbing in the dark. I said that right before you gave me a compliment and a smile and I beat you.” They both glanced at the doors as they opened, and exited the elevator, heading to their hotel room.

“I would’ve beaten you the other two times if we didn’t have that mission at that time.” He countered. Skye shook her head.

“Nuh-uh, honey. We were _not_ playing best two out of three.”

“Were you afraid I was going to beat you?” he looked at her as they came to a halt outside their door.

Skye folded her arms, a firm yet mischievous glint in her eye. “No.”

Grant chuckled, unlocked the door and let her in. “Whatever you say, Rookie.” He closed the door, frowning a little.

“What?”

“You didn’t say what you think my power would be.”

She shrugged like it wasn’t difficult. “Personally? Fire.” Turning, she just glimpsed two men appear out of thin air in the middle of the room.

No one spoke for a while, before Skye broke the silence.

“So, I guess this is Gordo?”

The man wearing sunglasses sighed loudly and turned to Cal. “’Gordo’? You never change, do you?”

Cal ducked his head sheepishly, but his amused grin betrayed his actual thoughts on his actions. With a further disgruntled look, the man turned to face Skye and Grant.

“Hello, Skye. My name is Gordon. I’m an assistant of Jiaying. We help a lot of our race.”

“We’re a different _race_?” Skye asked, astonished. “How different?”

“Our ancestors were experimented on by the Kree. They altered our DNA so that when triggered, we evolved rapidly through a process called Terrigenisis to develop abilities.”

“The extra macro-molecules?”

“S.H.I.E.L.D.’s already tested you, haven’t they?” Gordon sighed and shook his head in disappointment. “I don’t suppose they were any help.”

“From what FitzSimmons told me, my heartrate during the…Terrigenisis…was over 300.” Cal looked at Grant, snickering. Skye whirled around to find Grant’s jaw hanging loose. “Babe?”

“You caused that massive earthquake, didn’t you?” he asked, purely out of curiosity. Skye nodded, unsure of how he’d react to this. “Wow.”

“Skye, was there anything else that FitzSimmons found out?” Gordon said, bringing her attention to the matter at hand.

“Ah, my blood samples from before and after were drastically different.” She shifted on the spot. “Fitz changed my after samples to before ones to keep Simmons from finding out. He got me out of quarantine and helped me keep the secret until a certain Kree came to visit.”

Cal’s gaze snapped to her. “Well, that couldn’t have been good.”

“I agree.” Gordon stated. “What did the Kree say?”

“That he’d noticed an ancient signal that meant that a Diviner had been activated, and came to kill whoever had been changed. Said that we were monsters that had to be put down, no matter what we’d been before. That we were designed as weapons for some war of theirs.” Skye wrapped her arms around herself, hiding how much those words had hurt her.

“What else did he say?” Grant asked softly, winding his arms around her and pulling her close.

“It’s not urgent. You can tell Jiaying everything that happened regarding your powers once we get to Afterlife. For now, we should go.” Gordon said.

“Does your leader get so involved with everyone of your race?”

“Skye is one of two people to go through Terrigenisis using a Diviner in a Kree temple. No one else has done that for thousands of years. We developed our own way of transforming generations ago and it’s a lot more controlled. You can learn more about it once we get there.” Gordon urged.

“They’ll need to check out, in the normal, human way.” Cal said. “If you teleport them and their luggage out, the hotel staff will notice that something’s up. S.H.I.E.L.D. may be involved.”

Gordon groaned this time. “How do you people get anything done with all this protocol? Fine, I’ll take Cal now, and you can let me know when you’re done.” With that, the men were gone.

“Teleporter.” Skye noted. “Ha. Called it.” She craned her neck up to look at him.

“How are we supposed to let him know we’re done?” he said after kissing her lightly. “He didn’t leave us a phone number to call.”

“Maybe he doesn’t need one.”

“Maybe…”

“Come on.” Skye pulled out of his arms and moved towards her strewn clothes. “Let’s pack.”


	15. Afterlife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to get this up. I didn't realise how much time had gone by until I checked the last time I updated.

Skye was becoming more and more energetic, fuelled by the nervous excitement of finding out more about herself and her powers. She whizzed around the hotel room, gathering everything of theirs and packing them haphazardly into the suitcases. Grant sighed, shook his head, and set about folding the clothes properly before placing them back into the cases with more organisation. Multiple times he had grabbed Skye by the shoulders and told her to calm down, that she didn’t need to worry about this opportunity being lost because she wasn’t fast enough. Every time, Skye nodded and took deep breaths, stilling her muscles before jumping back into what she was doing. Grant’s mini lectures had a recorded best of three seconds.

Thankfully, Skye’s restlessness didn’t hamper the packing process, and they were heading downstairs to check out within fifteen minutes. The tension in Skye’s limbs increased with each step, until the point where she was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Skye!” Grant called for the fourth time in two minutes. “Stop and listen to me, please.” He halted just outside the elevator lobby, waiting for her to skip back to him.

“What? Why are you stopping, we need to go!” she insisted, grabbing his hand and tugging on it. “Grant!”

“You need to relax.” He said firmly. He used the hand Skye had taken hold of to draw to her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Because once we check out, and leave the hotel, we’re meeting Gordon and on our way to Afterlife.”

“I know!” Skye nearly shouted at him. She quieted for a second, pursing her lips. “I know. I’m just–”

“Worried and excited and trying not to bring the building down, so you’re focusing on everything except finding other people just like you.” Grant spouted without taking a breath.

“…yeah.” She breathed.

“Don’t worry about it.” He whispered. Leaning in, he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, lingering to enforce the virtue of patience. “You’ll be fine. Your dad will be there, so you’ll get to know him better. And I’ll be beside you, every step of the way. Okay?”

Skye nodded, her eyes closed as she breathed slowly. “Okay.” She said quietly. Opening her eyes, she reached up on her toes to kiss Grant, the embrace soft and sweet. “Let’s go.”

Grant didn’t answer, preferring to smile his assent. Skye pulled out of his arms and led him to the reception area, the room key swinging from her other hand. He frowned.

“How’d you get that?”

Skye glanced back, a cheeky grin in place. “Your back pockets are rather loose.”

He sighed loudly. “And here I was thinking you were feeling me up.”

Ahead of him, his girlfriend laughed. “That too.”

 

“Daisy!” a voice called. It sounded excited, and Skye’s head immediately snapped around to look for the owner.

“The alleyway.” Grant pointed out, directing her eyes to see the gap between the buildings. Taking hold of Grant’s hand, Skye pulled him along behind her, her other hand carrying her bags. As they neared the alley, both Cal and Gordon came into view. They were smiling at the pair, Cal beaming proudly.

“Hi Dad.” Skye nervously said, but the way that Cal’s face lit up helped ease the feeling of uncertainty. Beside her, Grant rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb before raising it to his lips and lightly planting a kiss. Gordon’s mouth twitched in slight amusement.

“Are you ready?” he asked. He was still wearing his sunglasses, which made Skye curious as to what else his gift entailed. She pushed that to the side for the moment, and nodded her assent to his question at the same time that Grant did so verbally. “Good. Hold on.”

His vague phrasing, coupled with the confident strides of Cal and Gordon into her personal space, had Skye leaning back into Grant with a slight worry. She had no chance to say anything before blue light electrified around them, moving with a mixture of ripple reflections and fork lightning. The surroundings of the alleyway vanished and were replaced by a village setting, full of milling people and red wooded buildings.

Gordon and Cal stepped away the second they arrived, giving the newcomers some space. Gordon turned to a couple of approaching men and gave them instructions to place Skye and Grant’s bags in their room.

Skye was still in a daze. Here was a place full of people like her. With the same altered lineage and special potential running through their veins. She had never felt at home so quickly, and it both delighted and frightened her.

“So this is Afterlife?” she heard Grant say. His arm was still wrapped around her waist from when she’d leaned back, and he sounded in just as much overwhelmed wonder as she felt.

“Welcome home, Skye.” Gordon said, pulling her from her mulling thoughts.

 _Home?_ She thought. _Is this where I was born?_

The tall man in front of her continued. “This is where you belong.”

 _Oh my god. I belong here? I belong_ somewhere _?_ Skye breathed slowly, trying to settle with the concept that these people would accept her right from the beginning, but unlike S.H.I.E.L.D., would completely understand her gift.

Grant used his free hand to rub Skye’s shoulder soothingly as dozens of people started crowding around them.

“Is this who Raina transformed with?” he heard some guy say.

“Yes, but give her some space.” Gordon answered him, gesturing towards the crowd in a pushing motion. Slowly, the gap between the descendants and the couple increased and felt less claustrophobic. “Skye, these people are descendants, just like you. We are called Inhumans.”

“Huh.” Skye muttered.

“Jiaying will tell you more. Cal, can you take Grant to their room?”

“I can’t go with Skye?” Grant asked, pinching his eyebrows together as he frowned. Skye straightened her back, ready to say that anything she gets told will get told to Grant, when Gordon explained.

“He’s not a descendant, as far as we can tell for now. So, no. He has to be left uninformed. Cal?” He left no room for argument as the crowd dispersed and he strode off.

“It’s best you follow him.” Cal said in a low voice, giving her a comforting smile. Skye nodded, gave Grant a kiss and hurried after the Inhuman with sunglasses.

 

Skye caught up with Gordon as he neared a larger building, stopping in the courtyard out front as anxiety hit her. _Was her gift too powerful? Would they feel threatened? Does Raina know what I can do?_ These thoughts plagued her mind, racing through and causing her chest to tighten.

“Skye.” Gordon said, pulling her out of her train of thought with his calm, reassuring voice. “It’s alright. Jiaying has spent decades helping those of us who have gone through Terrigenisis. You are no exception.”

Skye nodded and breathed slowly, calming her speeding pulse. “Okay, I just…”

“Panicked. I understand.” Slowly, deliberately, Gordon reached up and removed his sunglasses. Skye gaped. “I was just as terrified when I first changed.”

“…whoa.” Was all Skye could say.

“Shall we go in?”

She nodded again, more absent-mindedly this time, and followed him into the building.

 

“So who is Jiaying, exactly?” Grant asked as he followed Cal through the dirt paths of Afterlife. “You seem like you’re hiding something about her.”

Cal tensed up. “Ah, I-I’m not sure that I should be the one to tell you…it really is more of Daisy’s choice.”

“Fine.” Grant nodded, accepting that Cal wasn’t going to budge on this. “You said you didn’t know where this place is? Why is that?”

“Well, first of all, I’m technically not one of them.” Cal answered. He was more relaxed now that there wasn’t anything that he had to hide from Grant in regards to this. “Like you, in a way.”

“And second of all?”

“It’s kept a secret from most of the people here. Jiaying knows, as does Gordo.” He stopped as Grant chuckled. “What?”

“Ah, it’s just…I can see where Skye gets her nicknaming from.” Grant smiled fondly. “The first thing she called me was ‘the T-1000’.”

“The closed up kinda guy, huh?” Cal observed, speaking softly.

“I was.” The younger man sighed. “It was how I survived my mother and brother, and later it was how I survived John.”

“That’d be Garrett, right?” Cal got a wary stare from Grant at these words. “I talked to Raina.” He explained. Grant grunted in grudging acknowledgement. “She told me he was a fraud, a murderer, had _serious_ mental problems, and so afraid to die, he had my Daisy shot.” Cal explained this calmly, but Grant could almost feel the storm brewing under his skin.

“That’s just the tip of the iceberg.” He mumbled, his head hung low.

“I get that you regret what you’ve done.” Skye’s father said compassionately, causing Grant to whip his head up and look at him. “I regret what _I’ve_ done. What matters is that you’re different to who you used to be. You recognise your mistakes, and you learn from them.”

Grant looked back at the ground, mulling over Cal’s words.

“So what changed?” the older man asked after a few minutes of silence as they approached a smaller building. “After Garrett died, what did you do?”

“I was kept in isolation underground for six months, only agreeing to talk to Skye, then Coulson shipped me off to my brother for a public trial and execution.”

“…harsh.”

Grant barked out a laugh. “Yeah. Coulson’s a good man, and he stands for the right things, but he does the wrong things to get there. I don’t think he even realises how much of a hypocrite he can be.”

“Everyone’s a hypocrite at some point. I’m not saying I like Coulson, I’m just saying it’s just a way to understand other people’s perspectives. It’s a hard art to master, not many do.” Cal said, shoving his hands into his pant pockets.

“Oh yeah.” Grant muttered. _Well, he’s not the only one._

“Well, here’s your room.” Cal said brightly, opening double doors to a spacious bedroom, complete with Chinese decorations and a double bed.

“Cosy.” Grant wandered into the room, and impressed pout on his face. “Skye’ll like this.”


	16. Keeping Secrets

Gordon stepped into the room ahead of her, immediately addressing the woman within.

“Jiaying, Skye is here.” He said, walking towards the desk. Stopping a foot away from the edge, he waited until Jiaying had looked at him before stepping to the side.

Skye had nervously followed Gordon, allowing her gaze to sweep around the room until it settled on Gordon’s back. When he moved, and Skye saw the Asian woman sitting behind the old wooden desk, she froze with a gasp. Something about her was familiar.

Jiaying sat up straighter as she saw Skye for the first time. A few heartbeats went by, then a smile wove its way into her lips. “Welcome, Skye.” She said delightfully. “Welcome home.”

“Hi.” Skye said. She glanced at Gordon, who nodded reassuringly, and she moved closer. _What do I say?!_

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions.” Jiaying softly said. “Perhaps I can fill you in on our people’s history?” Relieved, Skye nodded. “Gordon,” Jiaying turned to the eyeless man. “Could you please make sure that Cal isn’t telling her friend too much?”

“Of course.” he agreed. He smiled at Skye as he turned to go, then walked out the door, closing it behind him.

“Skye.” Jiaying got her attention again. “Why don’t you take a seat?” She gestured to the chair slightly in front of Skye, and the girl sat down. “Our ancestors were perfectly ordinary humans, just as the ancestors of Cal, or your lover, were.”

“His name’s Grant.” Skye corrected.

Jiaying gave a gracious gesture of acknowledgement. “Many thousands of years ago, an alien race called the Kree came to Earth, and selected certain specimens of humans to experiment on.”

“Experiment?” Skye asked, alarmed.

“They altered their DNA, giving them the ability to rapidly evolve at the touch of a genetically enhancing mist.”

“Terrigenisis.” Skye murmured. “Gordon mentioned that.”

“I thought he might have, but it’s best to cover the basics.” Jiaying assented. “We still don’t know to this day what caused the Kree to choose Earth to perform these experiments, or why those particular people were chosen.”

“I do.”

Jiaying sat up stiffly. “How?”

“Well, I know why the Kree came to Earth, but I don’t know exactly why they chose our ancestors. That’s just guesswork.” Skye was unsure if revealing that was the best thing to do.

“Tell me what you do know.” The woman urged.

“Before S.H.I.E.L.D. found out I had powers, a Kree came to Earth to find who had been transformed by the Diviner. Everyone else assumed that it was only Raina that they were looking for, but then Vin Tak started spouting stuff like how I’m a monster, and that despite my past, I had to be exterminated–”

“Skye!” Jiaying cut in. “Please relax. Does this Vin Tak know you’re here?”

Breathing carefully, Skye shook her head. “No, Bobbi used his truncheon on him. It wiped his memory.”

Jiaying’s posture relaxed. “Good. And do other Kree know of our current existence?”

“I don’t think so.” She said slowly. “He said that he was careful to avoid the notice of his government or they’ll start up their…experiments again.”

“To help them conquer Earth.” Jiaying muttered bitterly. “As if we didn’t have enough problems.”

“Actually,” Skye uneasily began. “I think it’s more to fight their own wars. Like, elsewhere.”

The Inhuman leader slowly breathed in, her expression grave, yet attempting serenity. “Thankfully, that may not be a problem. For now, no other Kree wants to change more of us.”

Skye frowned. “Is that a bad thing? I thought you helped people here.”

“Skye, we have a very strict process for those of us who wish to go through Terrigenisis.” Jiaying leaned forward to earnestly explain her meaning. “Not everyone wants to transform, and if the Kree spread the Terrigen Mist, they could be taking away the will and choices of those people. Not to mention that anyone else who comes in contact with the altered Mist will likely die.”

“Oh.” Skye sat back, subdued by the impending possibility.

“For those of us who _do_ want to become extraordinary, we have a selection process. Not everyone is a worthy candidate for the transformation. Some have a higher chance of using their power for selfish purposes, while others simply may not be able to handle whatever power comes to them.”

“Like me.”

“No, Skye.” The woman assured her. “How long have you had your gift?”

“Three months.” She hesitantly answered.

“And in those three months, have you ever felt seriously suicidal, or a desire to hurt others with your gift?”

“No.”

“And you’re not insane.”

Skye shook her head. “So I’m going to be okay?” she whispered.

“Yes, Skye.” Jiaying smiled at her. “Your mental state is healthy, and your gift can be developed. Easier to control, and less limited in its capabilities.”

For the first time in hours, Skye grinned. “I can be amazing.” Then her smile dropped. “I didn’t go through your process.”

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t know what would happen in that temple, and you had no one else experienced in our types of powers to guide you.” Jiaying sat back a little. “Here, you will go through transitioning, which will help your body properly adjust to your sudden evolution. Usually, we would do it right after the transformation, but it’s better late than never.”

Skye nodded absently. “I can’t tell any of this to Grant, can I?” she asked sadly.

“How much does he already know?” Jiaying surprised her with the lack of a definite ‘no’.

“Um, he knows that I got my powers in the temple in Puerto Rico. Gordon told us that our kind changes with Terrigenisis. That we’re called Inhumans. Grant knows what I can do, he’s seen it in action.”

“Doing what, exactly?”

“Destroying Hydra factories and bases. I used my… _gift_ to control where the blast from the explosions went, so none of the surrounding area was damaged.”

Jiaying looked to have multiple shades of anger, concern and pride. Skye wondered why she took it so personally.

“You put yourself in these situations?” she demanded. Skye flinched at the implied accusation that it was a stupid thing to do.

“Well, yeah.” Before Jiaying could voice another outburst, Skye hurried to explain. “Hydra’s a terrible organisation. They just want to control everything!”

“I’m aware of how deadly and dangerous Hydra is, Skye.” Jiaying slowly enunciated each word, placing specific emphasis on Skye’s name. Skye’s brow pinched in suspicion. “Which is only one of the reasons why we _must_ stay hidden. No one else can know about us.”

“Not even S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

“Hydra was hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D. for decades, using their resources and jurisdiction to complete many of their own goals. They have a system for keeping track of any people with gifts, don’t they?” Jiaying looked at her pointedly.

Skye nodded. “The Index.” She whispered.

“And they placed you on this, yes?”

Again, Skye nodded.

“Do you feel safer, knowing that they’ve catalogued you? If someone else hacks their records, others will know as well.”

“The Rising Tide…” Skye muttered.

“Who?” Jiaying asked, thoroughly confused.

“An organisation I used to be a part of. I kept contacts with some of them when I was with S.H.I.E.L.D. for investigation purposes, but for the most part I stayed away.”

“And they are the ‘hacker’ types?”

“Yeah.” Skye tilted her head as she shrugged. “I was one of the best. Miles taught me a lot of what I know, but it turned out the ideals he’d been preaching weren’t ones he believed in.”

“Is that when you left? What did he do?”

 _She’s very nosy about this_. Skye thought. “Yeah, that’s when I left. He agreed to hack S.H.I.E.L.D. for a million dollars.” Her voice was bitter. “Several people died because of him. A gifted person under S.H.I.E.L.D. surveillance and protection, Chan Ho Yin. He could control fire. Apparently, even he wasn’t sure how he got his gift. A dishcloth just randomly caught fire one day.”

Jiaying laughed a little. “I hope you see my point. Even though S.H.I.E.L.D. claims to do the right thing by us, and for some they do, you can’t trust anyone who doesn’t understand.”

“But I trust Grant, even though I don’t think he completely understands.”

“Grant appears to be one of the few people who are an exception to that rule, and you are lucky to have found him. He accepts you, just like Cal did towards your mother.” She sighed. “But you are right that he doesn’t understand, and that is why you must be limited in what you tell him.”

Skye pursed her lips. “He’ll know I’m holding things back.”

“If he trusts you, he’ll let you tell him at your own pace.” Jiaying assured her. Skye didn’t look convinced. “Skye, you are not the only one who must trust that he hold his tongue when outside Afterlife. The livelihoods and lives of everyone here rests on the fact that no one slips up.”

“The fewer people that know…” Skye murmured.

“The easier it is to keep us all safe.” Jiaying finished for her. “Correct. Will he understand your inability to tell him everything if you tell him that?”

“Maybe at first.” Skye agreed. “But Grant, he’s…”

“Got a temper?”

“No! He’s a master at lying and manipulating and he’s trained in withstanding torture.”

“Then how can you be sure that you trust him?” Jiaying was alarmed.

“Because he’s proven himself. He loves me. I know him so well I know his psychological ticks. And with my powers, I can tell when people are lying. Plus, he’s promised to never lie to me, and he’s stuck to that.”

“Why would he need to promise not to lie to you?”

Skye shifted in her seat. “Miles.”

Jiaying frowned. “You and he were…?”

“Together.” Skye confirmed, nodding. “I haven’t seen him since I found out he sold out Chan Ho Yin’s life for money, and I never intend to. I found it hard to trust what people say since then.” _Not quite a lie…_

“Okay. That’s understandable. But still, don’t tell him everything at once.” Jiaying consented. “The others living here need to feel safe. This is our sanctuary.”

“I understand.” Skye nodded. She felt like she was doing that a lot. “May I see where I’m sleeping now?”

“Of course.” Jiaying smiled. “Follow me.”


	17. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry that this took a while to get up! It's not terribly long, but I hope you enjoy it :)

“Hey!” Grant greeted Skye with a smile as she walked into their room, accompanied by a Chinese woman. He was lying on the double bed against the middle of the back wall reading an old book from the shelves to his right, but got up as soon as he saw them, striding over to give Skye a hug. “Who’s this?” he asked her.

“I am Jiaying.” The woman answered him just as Skye opened her mouth. “I am the leader of the Inhumans at Afterlife.”

“Grant.” He introduced himself, holding out his hand. Jiaying smiled politely as she shook it.

“I hope you feel comfortable.” She focused on Skye. “Look for myself or Gordon if you need any help.”

“Sure.” Skye nodded, and Jiaying left.

“How’d it go?” Grant asked her, sliding his arms around her waist to draw her closer. “She withhold any information?” he teased.

“I think so.” She murmured as she interlocked her fingers at the back of Grant’s neck. “I’m not sure, but it seemed like she was overly invested in what I was doing before coming here.”

“Well, maybe she feels protective of every gifted that comes through here.” He suggested, then snickered. “She’s like the ultimate mom.”

“It’s not actually that many people.” Skye corrected him. “They have a strict process to make sure that anyone who receives their gift is able to handle it, or won’t use it for selfish reasons. And the less people there are to take care of in regards to this, the easier it is to keep us secret.”

Grant narrowed his eyes at her mostly blank expression. “You think that they see you as a potential threat.” He stated in a low tone. She didn’t deny it.

“Jiaying said that I wasn’t, but I can’t help thinking that she just said it to make me feel comfortable here.” She still wasn’t looking at him.

“And maybe it’s both of those reasons.” He ducked his head to get her to make eye contact. “You’ve already had your powers for three months, and you’ve only struggled with controlling them, not losing your mind.” Grant felt triumphant when she chuckled.

Tilting her head from side to side, she exaggerated her consideration. “You may have a point.” She conceded.

Grant grinned cheekily. “Anything else you can tell a spy?”

Skye snorted. “Well, now that you mention it…” she trailed off in the same jovial tone. Then she dropped the smile. “I can tell you a little bit, seeing as you’re already here.”

“Okay.” He nodded.

“Um,” Skye released her grip around Grant’s neck, grabbing hold of one of his hands to pull him to the bed. “You know when I told you about Vin Tak?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, he wasn’t wrong about the experiments. I hoped that they changed the early Inhumans because it worked on other planets, one at least, but we were a last attempt to recreate a gifted army for their war.”

“But that was shut down.” Grant sat down, leaning back into the pillows as Skye cuddled up next to him.

“Not soon enough. The one’s who were experimented on and survived banded together and built this place.”

Grant did the typical thing of looking round at the building they were in. “So how old is this place?”

“Several centuries, if what Jiaying told me was accurate.” She wrapped her arm around his waist. “She showed me the transition room where Raina is, and the one that I’ll go in later.”

“Transition?”

“To help me control my powers. The needles are developed from acupuncture, and they help Inhuman bodies adjust to the evolution.”

Grant turned his head to look at her. “Are you happier about having your powers now?”

She looked back up at him, nodding. “Yeah, I am. Their agenda is to help me, not some cause.” She adjusted her position against him. “Was Cal alright?”

“Yeah, he was fine.” He smiled. “He wouldn’t tell me who Jiaying was, only that it was your choice to say anything.”

“Jiaying’s the leader. Why would he leave that to me to say?” Skye pinched her brows together, confused. Grant, however, was putting the pieces together.

“You can’t think of any reason why Cal, who is obviously close to Jiaying, would want you to tell me who she is?” he tested her, and eyebrow raised.

“No…?” she trailed off, the pitch of her voice rising as she became more concerned. “Why, should I?”

Grant sighed. “Two people who are very close, or once were, who also hold a lot of concern for you and your wellbeing.” He prompted. She still seemed to not get it, but there was a flash of hopeful disbelief in her eyes. “You’ve got it.”

“She can’t be…” she whispered. “My mother died because of Whitehall…”

“She’s Inhuman.” He said. “Cal’s not. You are.” He shrugged. “Maybe her gift allowed her to survive.”

“But-but he tore her apart! Stuffed her organs into jars…how could anyone survive that?” Skye was shaking her head as she sat up, not allowing herself to hope that it was true.

“Remember what Whitehall said about her.” Grant copied her movements, leaning close to her to cup her face in his right hand. “She didn’t age. Her cells would have had to be regenerative.”

“So she didn’t die?”

“Well, perhaps not. Cal’s a doctor, so maybe he helped put her back together.”

Skye shuddered. “Ugh. She sounds like Humpty Dumpty.”

 

“Phil.” May announced as she walked into his office, interrupting the meeting he was having with Weaver. She didn’t say another word as Coulson glanced back at her, and quickly ended the discussion with the other woman. Weaver nodded at both of them and signed off from the video chat, leaving Coulson to face the demands of his Deputy.

“If you’re asking for news on Skye and Ward, I’m sorry, but I don’t have any.” He said resignedly, moving to sit in the chair behind his desk.

“I’m not asking.” She countered bluntly as she dropped a file in front of him. Coulson glanced up at her tiredly, as though he would rather do this in the morning. Inwardly sighing, he picked up the file, opening it as he glanced at the clock on the desk.

0046\. He groaned.

“Do I have to look at this now, Melinda?”

“If I said ‘no’, and you waited until eight o’clock to look at it, you’d be asking me why I didn’t insist on you reading it now.” She replied with an unimpressed expression. She drifted over to the sofa Coulson had placed in the room and dropped gracefully down into it.

Coulson wisely kept his grumblings to himself as he finally dropped his gaze to the report in his hands. His posture straightened as he took in the details, his mouth hanging open a little and he tore his eyes from the paper to May. She just smiled, a mere twitch at the corner of her mouth.

“Sir?” a sleepy voice came from the open doorway. Both senior agents looked up to see Fitz, one hand rubbing his right eye as he yawned.

“You should sleep, Fitz.” May softly said.

“I just wanted to, uh…” he fumbled for the word. “Check that you don’t need anything else for that.”

“So far it’s good, Fitz.” Coulson assured him in the same tone as May. “If I need anything, I’ll let you know in the morning. Go rest.”

Stifling another yawn, Fitz nodded and wandered back down the hall. Coulson turned back to May, no longer as tired as he was two minutes ago.

“I don’t know where they went since then.” May started, leaning against the back of the sofa. “The last trace I have of them is when they checked out of the hotel. CCTV shows them leaving the building and heading to the right, but when we got hold of the footage from the next camera over, they didn’t show up.”

“But Cal showed up right before they checked out.” Coulson pointed out, going over the report again.

“And he never left.”

Coulson frowned. “They don’t have cameras inside the hotel rooms, do they?”

“No.” May replied sternly. “We don’t even know which room they were in, so there would be no point.”

“Right.” Coulson murmured, nodding tiredly. “Could they be with others who have powers? I doubt Skye’s the only one.”

“And her mother. There’s probably a whole race with a specific genome that develops into the extra macromolecules that Simmons found in both Skye _and_ Raina’s blood.”

Coulson looked back up at her with an amused expression. “How much time have you been spending in the lab recently?”

May gave him an unimpressed look. “Anything else you want to go over before you go to bed?”

Still chuckling to himself, he glanced back down. “They were in China, right?”

“Mhm.”

“So they’re still there.”

“Likely.” May stood up and walked over to him. “Get some sleep before you overload on the obvious.” Taking the file from him, she shut the folder and left the office with it in hand. Coulson was left sitting at his desk, his hands still in the same position.

He sighed and got up, swaying a little before stumbling out of the office himself, the lights dimming as he crossed the threshold.


	18. Ideas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took ages! It kind of took a back seat in priority terms over the last few weeks.

****

“How are you feeling, Fitz?” Simmons asked as she entered the lab with two cups of tea. Setting one down next to Fitz, who was staring dejectedly at the screen in front of him, she got a grateful smile in return.

“Uh, good, thanks.” He mumbled into the mug. Closing his eyes as he took a sip, he sighed in content. Simmons stopped just past him, turning back to give him an unimpressed look.

“Really.” She said, not believing him for a second. “And that’s the reason you were looking forlorn?”

“Yeah.” He answered, too quickly. When Simmons didn’t move, he sighed. “There’s this collection of documents. They make absolutely no sense!”

“No sense in what way?”

“As in it’s mumbo jumbo!” Frustrated, Fitz pushed away from the desk, twirling around on the chair while being careful not to spill his tea. Frowning, because she hadn’t seen him this worked up since his injury was more of a hindrance, Simmons turned her attention to the monitor. As Fitz had said, the mixture of misspelt words and fractured phrases made the entire text seem haphazard. Her frown deepened as she studied the document while Fitz watched, trying not to hope too much that she could crack it.

“Some of these words…” she murmured, thinking out loud. “…hmm.”

“The words?” Poor Fitz was absolutely confused. “They’re misspelt… What about them?”

Simmons was already nodding before he finished his question. “Yes, they’re misspelt. But you can tell they are, and not just made up. Look here.” She glanced back at him before pointing to a particular word on the screen. “’Meathud’.”

“Method?” he asked, walking over to stand next to her.

“Yes!” she beamed at him. “The words are spelt phonetically! And it’s as though they’re pronounced, or perceived, by a speaker of another language.”

“That’s brilliant.” Fitz begrudgingly admitted. “So the way that the phrases are structured are based on the language of where the document came from?”

“Quite possibly.” Simmons returned for focus to the screen. “And if it’s a widely spoken language like Spanish or French, the local quirks should help us pinpoint the location.”

“I don’t suppose they put the sender’s ad-dress on these?” Fitz mused.

“No…” Simmons tapped away on both the screen and the keyboard, but came up empty handed. “Hydra kept a lot of secrets from its own members, it seems.”

“It’s not really surprising.” When she looked at him with an amused smile and raised eyebrow, he smirked. “Secrets within secrets is Hydra’s motto.”

“Agreed.”

“Hey guys.” Bobbi greeted, causing both scientists to simultaneously whip their heads around to look at her as she walked in. “Whoa, they weren’t kidding when they said you two were in sync.” She more so muttered to herself, but they heard her.

Chuckling softly, FitzSimmons looked at each other before answering. “Hi Bobbi.”

Rolling her eyes fondly, Bobbi dropped down into the seat Fitz had vacated. “So have you gotten anything new from those mountains of files?”

“Yep.” Fitz replied.

“These particular ones are coded.” Simmons continued. “It’s quite genius, actually. At first, they would appear to be rubbish, like someone doesn’t know how to speak English properly.”

“They’re using grammar and…punctuation of another language, as well as misspelling words.”

“Okay.” Bobbi frowned. “Are they all separate documents with the same code, or are they all part of one file?”

“Can’t tell.” Fitz answered.

“They could be either.” Simmons added, nodding along as she contemplated the complexity of the puzzle. “Or they could all be from different places, likely meaning that they’re all translated from different languages.”

Bobbi sighed. “Any idea how long it’s gonna take?”

“Give us til two o’clock.” Fitz suggested with a shrug.

“You’ll have them all done by then?” Bobbi raised her eyebrows, impressed.

“Oh, gosh, no.” Simmons laughed. “But we’ll definitely have one done by then. And once we’ve figured out the most efficient way of decoding them–”

“I’ll adjust an algorithm to sort through the rest.” Fitz finished for her.

“And how long will _that_ take?” The weapons expert leaned forward in her seat, resting her elbows on her knees.

“End of tomorrow, tops.”

“Maybe longer, depending on whether or not more turn up.” Simmons turned to face Bobbi, folding her arms as a frown pulled the corners of her lips down, matching the creases on her forehead. “Then we have to track down the exact location that these were sent from.”

Bobbi nodded and stood up. “Well I’ll tell Coulson what you’ve found, and check in with you this afternoon.” FitzSimmons nodded simultaneously again, causing the blonde agent to crack a smile as she left.

 

“Are you ready?” Gordon asked through the door to the transition room.

“Almost.” Skye called back in a slightly wavering voice. Grant cast her a worried look as he adjusted the pieces of cloth covering her most private parts before standing resolutely by her side.

“Now?” he asked softly, taking a hold of her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Acupuncture.” She replied with a false cheer. “It’s therapeutic, I should be fine.” She rambled out, focusing on the ceiling and not the feeling of bile pushing its way up her throat.

“Hey, I’ll be right here beside you.” He smiled, then lent over and brushed a kiss against her lips.

“Skye?” Gordon called out again.

“Oh, what the hell. I should get it over with.” Skye gushed out in a breathless whisper. Raising her voice, she answered him. “Ready!”

Gordon quickly entered, closing the door behind him, and moved over to the table between them. Glancing at Grant, he picked up a box which no doubt held the needles for the transition. “I’m afraid that you will have to leave.” He said to Grant as he placed the box beside Skye. “This process is to be knowledge of Inhumans only.”

Skye sent Grant a panicked look as the man in question stiffened, his gaze hardening. “You want me to leave my girlfriend alone in a room with a man she barely knows, covered only in two scraps of linen?” he demanded, his jaw clenching over and over.

Skye turned her gaze onto Gordon as well. “And what if he is Inhuman?”

“We don’t know that for certain.” Gordon replied patiently, looking down at her face.

“In any case, you’ve already explained the process to us.” She retorted. “So what difference does it make?”

“Comfort.”

“Well, I feel more comfortable with him here, not on the other side of the door.”

Gordon sighed. “I don’t feel comfortable sharing our people’s secrets. They’re sacred.”

Skye snorted. “I’m the one being analysed here.”

“Skye–”

“Enough.”

All three heads turned to face the newcomer, shutting the door behind herself. Jiaying moved forward and spoke to Gordon firmly.

“If Skye wishes for Grant Ward to stay, then he may stay.”

“But Jiaying, he’s human!”

“Hey!” Grant protested, offended at the comment. Jiaying ignored him.

“As a life partner, he has a right and a responsibility to understand every part of what it means to be Inhuman. If they have children, it is best for both parents to be supportive of their children’s potential.” Jiaying kept her gaze on Gordon as she spoke, moving closer to the bed. Skye felt more relaxed as the leader drew near, but she kept quiet as to why, wanting to save the reveal for a more private moment. After a few moments Gordon nodded and reached into the box on the bed, pulling out a needle.

“This may hurt a little, but you’ll have to remain still until the transition is complete.” He informed Skye, and waited for her to nod before placing the needle in her arm. She winced and sucked in air as the point pricked her skin. Grant squeezed her hand tighter, grasping it with his other and rubbing his thumb over hers.

“I’ll assist.” Jiaying announced, moving to stand beside Grant, and picked out another needle. This one she put in Skye’s stomach, the girl having the same response to the intrusion. They continued for several minutes, placing dozens of needles into Skye’s body with precision and care that bespoke experience. Jiaying appeared to have spent more time as a transitioner, inserting the needles much more quickly and surely than Gordon. Grant had to let go of Skye’s hand once the rest of her body had been covered, save for her neck and face, but he remained close.

When the last of the needles had been slotted into place, the ends of them glowed red, giving them an eerie effect – like weird sparklers, Skye thought. Grant’s eyes widened a little, and looked quickly up at the monitor, which was forming live readings of Skye’s DNA.

He whistled lowly, impressed. “Wouldn’t Simmons love to able to do this?” Both Jiaying and Gordon shot him sharp looks, and even Skye narrowed her eyes at him.

“If she could get over her aversion to anything alien.” She responded sternly.

“Not specifically for Inhumans.” He hurried to clarify. “But for anyone. She’s the resident doctor at S.H.I.E.L.D., right? So she could do a full physical like this after missions.” Skye was contemplating this with interest, nodding along to his suggestion.

“There’s the factor of needles, though. Some people _really_ don’t like them.” She pointed out.

“Transitioning doesn’t have to happen while the subject is awake.” Gordon spoke up from his position in front of the computer. He glanced round at Grant and Skye to see their reactions before facing the screen again.

“Um.” Skye looked down at her mostly naked body. “Creepy?” Nervous, she glanced at Grant. She noticed that Jiaying shifted uncomfortably, but tamped down the urge to say something.

“Just a bit.” Grant muttered in agreement, his eyes narrowed at the other man.

“We usually have far less of an audience for those who go through the Mist.” Jiaying said, drawing Skye and Grant’s attention. Gordon continued with his work. “Just the subject and transitioner. Usually, the one who change have been here for some time, so their transitioner would be someone they know well. At your S.H.I.E.L.D., if you develop this technology for this purpose, the subject can wear underwear if it makes them more comfortable.”

“That might work.” Grant nodded.

“Oh, won’t Bobbi be pleased.” Skye chortled, her eyes shining with mirth.


	19. Skye's Mother

Bobbi walked down the corridor to Coulson’s office, stopping in the open doorway with her hand raised to knock on the frame. The Director and his Deputy were conversing rapidly; evidently, something had gone their way.

“I don’t know how long we have the advantage on this, Coulson, but if we could just try to contact Skye–” May was saying, brandishing a file as she paced in front of the desk.

Coulson cut her off. “Contact her how? They’ve dropped off the radar.”

“Then we should look in any of the places we _don’t_ have radar!”

Coulson sighed, causing May to halt impatiently. “That could be anywhere around the globe, and requires more manpower and resources than we can afford right now. Especially considering the fact that Hydra has legions more soldiers and billions more in most of the world’s currencies.”

“We _have_ the upper hand!” she protested, then at Coulson’s resolute expression, pursed her lips and turned to face Bobbi. “How are FitzSimmons getting along, Agent Morse?”

“They found some of the documents were written in a sort of code.” Bobbi switched to her report with ease, straightening her spine as she entered the room. “Directly translated into English from whatever the original language was, and many of the words are misspelled. Fitz reckons they’ll have the first done by two this afternoon. After that, it’s just a matter of creating the right computer programme to sort through the rest.”

Coulson and May shared a look. “Do you know how long that will take?” he asked, folding his hands neatly together in front of him.

“Not exactly. It’s estimated by the end of tomorrow, but Simmons mentioned the possibility that the documents are all from different sources, so that’s many different languages to translate to and back again.”

“Directly translated?” May asked. “So it’s not necessarily what makes sense?”

“No. But the way that the sentences are arranged should make it easier to find the language that does.” Bobbi replied, holding her hands together in front of her.

“But what good would finding the original languages do? It’s not like we can pinpoint a specific location.”

“Maybe not _us_.” Bobbi clarified. “As soon as we have contact with Skye again, I’ll ask her to follow the trail with the specifics, making it easier.”

May nodded. “Then go and tell FitzSimmons to save a copy of each and every document.”

Bobbi frowned in confusion. “Why?”

“Files I checked half an hour ago have been changed since then.” Coulson answered her, standing up and walking around the desk. “It seems that Skye’s Trojan Horse has given us a live stream of Hydra’s database.” He smiled as Bobbi’s jaw dropped open in surprise. “Yeah. I’m impressed, too. But that’s why we need to keep a strict day-to-day record of their communications. Perhaps even hourly.”

“That’s a lot to check on.”

“And there’s a lot that can change.” Coulson pointed out. “So get to it.”

Bobbi nodded, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Copy that, sir.”

 

Skye shrugged on her jacket, grateful to be wearing a decent amount of clothes. As she pulled her hair out from between the layers of clothing, she felt Grant walk up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Hey.” She grinned, closing her eyes. He dipped his head to rest it in the crook of her neck and she felt him smile against her skin.

“Hey.” He replied, his voice a deep, husky tone. “Feel better?”

“Loads.” She sighed, relieved. “It doesn’t feel like there’s a swarm of bees inside me anymore.” He hummed in response, tightening his grip and kissing her neck languidly. Enjoying the attention, she tipped her head, allowing him better access.

“A- _hem_.” Jiaying’s voice from the doorway popped their bubble. They quickly looked over to her, wide-eyed and a bit embarrassed. Jiaying just smiled fondly. “Perhaps you can save that for when you’re in a _private_ room.” Amused, she bit back a grin at Skye and Grant’s awkward shuffling. “Skye, the elders have decreed that I should be your guide while you learn to further control your gift.”

Skye raised her eyebrows, surprised. “Oh.”

“And I would like to start now.” Not waiting for an answer, she turned and left the room, the door sitting slightly ajar.

“Oh.” Skye repeated, but she was less than impressed. “I was wanting to explore with you.” She moaned, turning in Grant’s arms and pressing her face into his chest.

“We can explore after.” He replied in a murmur. “And you probably shouldn’t keep your mother waiting.”

She grinned and lifted her face to gaze at him. “My _mother_.” She said softly. “I’m still finding it hard to believe.”

“Maybe you should tell her. Get the family reunion you’ve always wanted.” He suggested. Taking a deep breath, Skye nodded, kissed him quickly, and hurried after Jiaying.

 

Wanting to wait until Skye was finished with her time with Jiaying, Grant made his way to their bedroom. Cal was waiting outside, to his surprise, and his posture bespoke both anxiousness and boredom.

“Ward!” Cal called out jovially as soon as he spotted the specialist. “Just the man I was looking for!”

Grant raised an eyebrow as he approached. “What for?”

“I need to talk to you.” Cal said urgently, taking hold of Grant’s elbow and pulling him away from the room. “I take it Daisy is with her mother?”

“Yeah, and I was gonna wait in our room til they were done.” Grant gestured towards the building, still being dragged away by his potential father-in-law.

“Oh, this won’t take long, but we need to be somewhere private.” He insisted, glancing around and choosing a path on his right. He was still gripping Grant’s elbow tightly.

Grant was getting a little nervous. “What kind of talk are you wanting to have?”

“The fatherly kind.”

“…okay.”

His answer had Cal stop and look at him with a frown. “You’ve never had the fatherly talk before?”

“…no?”

Cal’s frown deepened, causing ridges and valleys to form on his forehead. “Have you ever had a girlfriend before?”

“No. I never had the time or inclination at the same instance before.”

“…oh.” Now Cal looked sorry for him. “Coulson never gave you the talk? He’s been a sort of fatherly figure to Daisy.”

“No…I, uh…we haven’t really gotten along well since…you know.” Uncomfortable, Grant scratched back of his head.

“Oh, yeah, right.” Cal nodded along reassuringly. “Well, you’re about to find out!” he perked up with a smile, and continued on his way, still pulling Grant along by his elbow.

 

“What a view!” Skye exclaimed, impressed. “I mean, I’m used to the horizons we’d get on the Bus, but they were never anything like this.”

Smiling broadly, Jiaying stepped up beside her. “Our people have been here for generations. Not many of us are born here, usually we try for careers around the world, find people we love and settle down. Then our children are found and brought here for evaluation if they wish to transform.”

Skye nodded and glanced down at her feet. “I wish Raina had given me that choice. I never understood what ‘our destinies’ meant until I couldn’t control what I was doing.”

Jiaying turned her gaze on her, silent for a while. “If you had developed a less destructive gift,” she began quietly. "Would you have been happier with your heritage?”

Her eyes screaming her uncertainty, Skye looked at her mother. “I don’t know. ‘Less destructive’?” she frowned. “In my world, anything can just be as devastating, depending on how it’s used.”

Jiaying smiled as she nodded, proud of the answer she had gotten. “And just as your gift can be destructive, so can it create.”

Skye frowned at her like she’d lost her mind. “ _How?_ Is there someone else here with these sorts of powers?”

“No.” Jiaying laughed softly. “But consider something else – Thor’s hammer, for example. It’s a weapon of war, as you saw in the Battle of New York. But a hammer can also build. And Thor’s decrees that only those who are worthy may pick it up.” She moved closer in earnest. “You have this incredible ability. Only you have it, and only you have the power to control it.”

Skye was smiling at the comparison, but changed the topic. “You said ‘our children’.” Jiaying stiffened. “Whitehall said you didn’t age.” Skye continued. “Your scars…” she reached out tentatively to touch them, afraid that the other woman would pull away. She didn’t, just gazed at Skye, wide-eyed. “It’s you, isn’t it?”

Jiaying didn’t answer.

“Are you my mother?”


	20. The Fatherly Talk

Skye stood still, barely breathing, praying that she hadn’t read too far into this. Jiaying seemed to be reacting in slow motion, but whether that was because of the adrenaline rushing through her, or Jiaying deliberately controlling herself, Skye wasn’t sure.

Tears welled up in the woman’s eyes as Jiaying eventually nodded. “Yes.” She whispered, sounding chocked up with emotion. “Daisy.”

“Oh my god…” Skye breathed, launching herself into Jiaying’s arms. “ _Mom_.”

“Hi, sweetheart.” Jiaying wrapped her own arms around her daughter’s body, squeezing tightly. Needing to breathe, Skye pulled back, but her mother kept her grip on her shoulders. “You’ve finally come home.”

Skye gulped. “Is this…is this where I was born?”

Jiaying smiled wistfully. “No. That village is long gone, and miles away.”

“ _Gone_ …? I-” Skye took a deep breath and glanced away. “Coulson told me that the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent he found in Mexico was the last person left alive, but I hoped…”

“ _S.H.I.E.L.D._ is the reason you were taken from us, Daisy.” Jiaying implored. “Cal and I were overjoyed to have you in our lives. S.H.I.E.L.D. took me away and experimented on me. I nearly died! If your father hadn’t put me back together, I would have.”

“Hydra did it.” Skye replied forcefully. Jiaying blinked in surprise and stiffened. “Hydra had infested S.H.I.E.L.D. since the forties and used the jurisdiction to ruin lives _all over_ the world.” She shook her head. “You weren’t the only ones affected, Mom.”

Carefully, Jiaying kept her anger in check, breathing slowly. “How many families did they tear apart?”

“I don’t know.” Skye flung her hands up half-heartedly. “Thousands. They hid abuse, and preyed on those who didn’t know anything better than that. Grant, for one.”

The older woman tilted her head, lips pursed. “Grant was Hydra. And you trust him?”

“He’s proven himself.”

“How?” Jiaying wasn’t convinced.

“By trying to put the family he destroyed back together.” Skye said, firmly standing her ground as Jiaying took a step forwards.

“Whose, may I ask?”

“His own.”

Jiaying halted, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “He destroyed the family who abused him?”

“Not that one.” Skye clarified. “The team on the Bus. Coulson, May, FitzSimmons…and me and Grant.”

“If he destroyed the family you’d made for yourself,” her mother began. “How is it you stay with him?”

“Because I love him.” Skye replied instantly. “Because he knows he made a mistake. Because everyone who’s ever supposed to stand by and support him has either turned their backs or used his desperation to make him do horrible things. Even us, but I couldn’t do that anymore.”

“Why not?”

“A karaoke duet.”

Jiaying’s mouth dropped open a little. “I…did not expect that.”

Skye shrugged. “Neither did we. I was on a mission, and Grant was wanting a night off.”

“So what happened after you sang?”

“We chatted, got the guy arrested, and then Kara went back with Bobbi, and I took off with Grant.” She smiled happily. “Haven’t regretted it.”

“During which time you blew up Hydra bases.” Jiaying prompted, a proud and amused smile pulling the right corner of her mouth up.

“Yep.” Skye beamed with arrogant pride. “And gathered vital information for S.H.I.E.L.D. to use. Not to mention, hacked Hydra’s database and gave the good guys a live feed of _everything_.”

The proud smile became full-blown. Jiaying tilted her head again as she considered her daughter. “How much of your family history do you know?”

 

Cal, still gripping Grant’s elbow tightly, dragged the ex-agent into the clearing in a small cluster of trees. “I think here’s fine.” He said, mostly to himself as he released Grant. Wincing, Grant rubbed at the red patch of skin.

“What’s this about, exactly?” he asked, raising an eyebrow warily. “What do you mean ‘the fatherly talk’?”

Cal considered the man in front of him. Grant stood tall, stiff, and looked ready to bolt. Finally, Cal smiled, and moved over to a bench to sit down. Grant remained standing, his arms folded defensively over his chest.

“Well, _Grant_ , I just wanted to get to know you better!” the older man smiled widely, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “Since my Daisy seems to be insistent on being with you, I feel responsible to give you due warning of my wrath, should you hurt her.”

“I won’t–” Grant began, but Cal cut him off with a stern look and a wave of his hand.

“This is something, that as a father, you do for your daughters when they start dating.”

“Okay…”

“How much do you care for my daughter?” Cal fired the question at him, his posture suddenly tense.

Grant blinked and responded immediately. “I love her.”

Cal nodded, appearing slightly appeased. “Will you ever betray her again?”

“No!” Grant exclaimed indignantly. His face screwed up in offence at the insinuation.

“Relax, relax, I had to ask.” Cal held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Did you love her before you betrayed her?”

“I….might’ve.” Grant frowned a little. “I was trying not to dwell on it too much. She’d already nearly died because John thought I was compromised. If he thought the warning hadn’t changed my mind…” he trailed off, the meaning made clear.

Cal nodded, watching him intently. “Did you?”

“Change my mind?” Grant confirmed. Cal grunted affirmation. “I was starting to. Saying he knew that Skye wasn’t going to let me die for the hard drive quelled it a bit, but…”

“The damage was done.” Cal finished for him. Clearly, this was a sensitive topic for the younger man.

“I mean, I’d known John for fifteen years before all this. He knew everything about me. The team didn’t. They couldn’t.” Grant sighed and sat down on the spot, linking his hands around his knees, drawn up in front of him. “He knew everything and didn’t leave or give up on me. I thought he was worth it.”

“Did you know everything about him?”

“No, I never deluded myself that I could. He’d been through so much more, and he was like a father to me…it’d be wrong to pry into everything.” The ex-agent closed his eyes at his own naivety. “I just thought I knew enough. But he always had an angle.”

With a groan escaping his lips, Cal stood and moved over to Grant. He sat down next to him, only facing the other way. “Sounds to me like you had a shit-ton more morals than your so-called father figure.” He looked at Grant meaningfully, and the man grinned a little.

“I still followed him, though. So what does that say about me?”

“You care, Grant.”

“I’ve killed. A lot.” Grant muttered, not really wanting to downplay the sincerity of Cal’s words, but unable to fully accept them.

“So have I.” Cal countered, getting a little annoyed at the man’s persistence with tearing himself down. He remained outwardly patient, however. “So has that Agent May who got all self-righteous against you. So have many other agents who worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“Some of them were Hydra.”

“Would you stop tearing yourself down?!” Cal’s temper flared. Grant flinched, and couldn’t meet his gaze. “Look at me, Ward.” He said in a low tone. “Look at me.” Slowly, Grant raised his eyes to Cal’s. “Some of them are _still_ Hydra. You are not. What does that say about you?” When Grant remained silent, Cal shook his head in frustration. “Why is it you still base your worth on what some self-centred dead bastard thought of you?”

“I-” Grant didn’t know what to say to that.

“If you weren’t better than what you think you are, then explain to me how my daughter would move heaven and earth to be with you.” Cal looked at Grant intensely as he said this, then got to his feet and dusted of his slacks. Holding a hand out to the ex-agent, he pulled Grant to his feet. “Maybe you should think on that before you talk to Jiaying. Get some perspective on who you are before she interrogates you.”

“Mothers do that too?” Grant asked, momentarily forgetting that Cal didn’t know he knew. The old man froze. “I figured it out.” He assured him.

“Oh. Well…Jiaying will want to.” Cal continued, still surprised. “We haven’t had Daisy in our lives since she was a few months old.”

_Uhh… yikes._ Pulling a tight, yet sympathetic smile, Grant followed Cal through to the heart of Afterlife.

 

“Your father comes from America.” Jiaying began, indicating that they should stroll.

“Hence the accent.” Skye piped up, grinning at Jiaying’s unimpressed expression. “Please don’t say you expect me to be quiet while you talk. I give my opinion on anything I want to, and seeing as this is about my family–”

“I understand.” Her mother cut in with a smile.

“So…continuing on from America…?”

“Cal came to China as a volunteer. He was working with Doctors Without Borders for a couple of weeks, and met me during that time.”

“Love at first sight?”

Jiaying laughed. “Not quite. But the affection was there, and he stayed longer than the initial two weeks.”

“ _Then_ you fell in love.” Skye crossed her arms for comfort as the path they walked along rippled with slivers of shadows and sunlight. “How’d you meet?”

“I was studying to be a doctor myself.” Jiaying smiled at the memory. “Cal and my teachers told me I had quite a gift for it, and I loved helping people.”

“Not so much anymore?”

Jiaying hesitated. “I’m somewhat limited in helping people in that respect because of my decision to help the gifted ones here, but when I do lend assistance, I am careful. Any wrong move could lead back to us here.” She stopped and reached out to grasp Skye’s shoulder. “It’s imperative that no one knows of Afterlife. The world isn’t ready to know about us just yet. It wasn’t even ready for Thor.”

“I won’t tell anyone, I promise.” Skye placed her hand over her mother’s.

“Even those S.H.I.E.L.D. agents you call your friends?”

Skye was a little disappointed that Jiaying didn’t trust her much. “I’ll tell them about what concerns only me.”

Jiaying nodded, satisfied. “So, yes, Cal and I fell in love. We got married and lived in the village where not only you were born, but myself and my parents before me. Although that was a very, very long time ago.”

Skye frowned. “How old _are_ you?”

“Over a century.” At her daughter’s shocked expression, she smiled. “Automobiles made their way into China when I was two years old.”

“Holy…”

“I was nearly 65 years old when Whitehall first grabbed me and many others from my village.” Jiaying continued, waiting to see where Skye would start to put all the pieces together.

Skye did a double-take. “First?!”

Jiaying motioned for them to continue walking, taking a moment to answer. “It was 1945, and what was left of Hydra was being hunted down by the allies.”

“Led by Peggy Carter.” Skye’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Did you meet her?”

Amused, Jiaying laid a hand on Skye’s arm to calm her. “I’ll get to that.”

“Oh my god…” Skye breathed, her body thrumming with excited awe. “Simmons’ll be so jealous!” At her mother’s stern look, she settled her expression to sheepish, pretending to zip her lips together.

“Whitehall had the excavators of a cave taken to him, along with members of my village, for testing.”

“Testing?” Skye’s brow furrowed, then snapped back up. “The Diviner?!”

“Yes.” Jiaying gave one nod. “He was observing the speed and physical effects of the petrification.”

“Jeez…” Skye looked away, disgusted.

“When it came to me, he expected the same results as every other time before. He was kind, and told me I should pick up the metal object. The Obelisk, he called it.” Jiaying’s expression tightened. “I’d never seen a Diviner before. I didn’t know what it would do, to anyone, and then I saw the end of a finger. It was stone. I refused, but the guards behind me forced me to touch it.”

“And it glowed orange with Kree symbols.” Skye murmured, remembering the time when Whitehall forced her to hold it.

Jiaying remained silent for a while, then her face brightened. “He didn’t get to experiment on me like he wanted to. One of his underlings ran in while he gloated of his potential exploits and informed us of another leader’s death. Whatever that meant, it had Whitehall packing everything up, including putting me in a cage.”

“He _caged_ you?!”

“I wasn’t even in there for an hour before the allies got me out. Peggy Carter herself made sure that I was okay and asked that I tell her everything that happened.” She grinned at her daughter’s renewed exhilaration. “After that, I went home, and lived out my life until S.H.I.E.L.D. came and took me away.”

“And I ended up in an orphanage.” Skye said bitterly. “I don’t even know when my birthday is.”

Jiaying opened her mouth to automatically give the answer, then stopped and smiled. “Why don’t we ask Cal? He’d be delighted to tell you.”

“Ah, sure.” Skye shrugged and allowed her mother to lead her back to the main building.


	21. Family Legacy

Cal and Grant were already in Jiaying’s office when the mother and daughter pair entered. Rolling her eyes at Cal’s unsurprising behaviour, Jiaying smiled at Grant and swept through the room to sit behind her desk. Cal, who had been lounging on an old recliner, bounced to his feet and hurried to hug Skye. Beaming at her and receiving an awkward smile in return, he moved back to stand at Jiaying’s side. Grant moved over from his position by the bookshelf towards Skye. Grinning, Skye wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, not minding at all that her parents were watching. Grant was a little surprised at the blatant display of affection in front of Skye’s parents, but he happily kissed her back.

“D’you think we should do that?” Cal stage-whispered to Jiaying as the young couple broke apart. Jiaying turned to give him a half amused expression, one eyebrow raised questioningly. Cal sniggered as he looked over at Skye, who had pulled a sour face yet didn’t quite know why she was so objecting to the idea. Grant just looked somewhat lost, his gaze darting between the other people in the room as he searched for what would be the appropriate response for him to make.

“Perhaps not.” Jiaying replied, turning back to face a relieved Skye and Grant. However, she continued addressing Cal. “Skye was just telling me about what she knew of her family history.”

“What do you know?” Cal asked Skye, eager to share.

“Just the S.H.I.E.L.D. version of events.” She replied, leaning into Grant. “And Mom told me you’re from America.” Jiaying brightened when Skye said ‘mom’, but she let her daughter continue.

“Yeah!” Cal said jovially. “From Milwaukee, specifically. I had a clinic there, not far from a lovely Swiss bakery.” His expression turned thoughtful. “I hope it’s still there.”

“So,” Skye paused, unsure of how to proceed. “Um, would we have lived in America or China? If I had…stayed.”

“We were already planning to move back to your father’s home town before you were old enough for school.” Jiaying answered. “I was to enrol at a medical school near to the clinic, and there was an elementary nearby.”

“What about the clinic in the Hunan Province?”

“Small.” Cal answered this time. “And was fine at the time. But I had only gone to China for volunteer work, and my Chinese was terrible–”

“Still is.” Jiaying interjected. Skye and Grant chuckled.

“…and I still missed my family back home. Your grandparents wanted to meet you.” Cal continued, merely glancing at Jiaying with faint amusement, and smiled at his daughter. “But, a few months after you were born…” he trailed off, everyone in the room understanding what he meant.

“When _was_ I born?” Skye asked, her gaze flicking from one parent to the next.

Her parents shared a look, Cal with a raised eyebrow and Jiaying smiling at him expectedly. The former answered with a bright smile.

“July second, 1988.”

“‘88?” Skye repeated, confused. “I’m twenty seven?”

“Of course.” Jiaying replied, a hint of confusion in her own expression.

At the same time, Cal stood up straighter and had a more amused look. “How old did you think you were?”

“Twenty five, twenty six.” Skye shrugged. “It was just an estimation that the nuns made when I was dropped off at the orphanage.”

Jiaying and Cal both frowned, concerned. Cal opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.

“Babies grow quickly. To someone who works with children for a living, a three month old should be no problem for anyone estimating their age, especially with all the developments they go through.” She said. “Were the nuns blind?”

“No…” Skye’s eyebrows furrowed together. “And they weren’t all old.”

“That’s a head-scratcher, for sure.” Cal put in. “But perhaps we’ll never know.” Smiling, he looked satisfied that the matter was done.

Skye and Grant shared a look. “Do you often let things go so easily?” he asked.

“Nope.” Cal replied in the same jovial tone.

“Moving on.” Jiaying said, trying to bring the conversation back to its original topic. “Skye, is there anything else you want to know right now?”

“Um…my grandparents?” Skye shrugged. “I know I wouldn’t have met your parents,” she addressed Jiaying. “But I’d still like to know their names.”

Her mother smiled fondly. “Guan Fuhua and Liew Lijuan. I was one of seven children, yet I was the only one selected for the Terrigenisis transformation.”

“What about their kids? Were any of them selected?”

“No.” Jiaying replied. “But two of my great-grandnieces were approved.”

“Could you draw out a family tree?” Skye stepped forward, excited.

“I have a pen!” Cal simultaneously whipped the writing utensil out of his jacket, beaming the whole time.

“Thank you, Cal.” Jiaying said politely, eyebrow raised slightly at his puppy-like behaviour. She accepted the pen and took the top sheet of paper from the small stack on her desk. “As I said, my parents had seven children,” she began, writing _Guan Fuhua_ and _Liew Lijuan_ at the top of the paper, adding their Chinese character counterparts underneath. She wrote lengthwise along the sheet, and linked the two names with two long parallel lines. “The eldest was my brother, Qiang.” Jiaying divided the landscape length of the piece of paper into eight segments, writing _Qiang_ under the first line down, also underlined with Chinese characters. Moving to the next descending stroke, she wrote _Deshi_ under it. “My second eldest brother, Deshi, was a year younger.”

“Yikes.” Grant muttered, moving to stand behind Skye and wrap his arms around her.

Jiaying looked up, a musing expression on her face. “This was the early 1880s, Grant.” She gently informed him. “Women were not so well cared for as they are now. It certainly wasn’t something my father ever considered, so we thought nothing of the stress a mother goes through just to produce a child.” Turning her focus back to the family tree, she wrote _Wencheng_ under the third line. “Wencheng was my third brother, but he died not long after he was born.” She sighed sadly. “My mother finally got the rest she needed, and two years later she fell pregnant to my last elder brother, Quon.” She wrote the name under the fourth line, adding the Chinese version as she had with the others. “Another two years later, I was born.” Jiaying brightened a bit at this, writing her own name under the fifth line along the page. “My younger brother Geming was a year and a half later,” she paused as she wrote _Geming_ under the sixth line. “And finally, my sister Yuequin was born, five years after me.” Adding _Yuequin_ to the page under the seventh and final line, she looked up to see her daughter’s reaction. “My mother then refused to get pregnant again, and my father was pressured by my mother’s parents to cede to her wishes.”

While Skye was just staring at the piece of paper, as though watching it could help her learn more about her grandparents and aunts and uncles, Grant moved the discussion along.

“Did they all have kids themselves? Not including Wencheng, of course.”

“No.” Jiaying replied with a heavy sigh. “Geming was killed falling out of a tree at around six years old, and Quon died in World War I.” Feeling restless, she started twirling the pen around her fingers. “He was a pilot.”

“And the others?” Skye asked.

Shaking her head to clear it, her mother moved her pen to the paper, drawing parallel lines from _Qiang_. “My eldest brother married Gao Zhilan. She was very young, perhaps only seventeen at the time, while Qiang was twenty three. I adored her, absolutely loved having an elder sister, but she was so scared of making Qiang angry. A result of her own father, I suspect. Our mother would never have let him hurt her.”

“She sounds amazing.” Skye whispered. “Did he ever try?”

“To hurt her?” Jiaying asked to confirm, and Skye nodded. “No. He wanted mentally sound children of his own, not violent or desperate, hoping that one of them would be selected for Terrigenisis.” She laughed softly. “That didn’t happen, but Zhilan’s face when she found out…we all made her swear to secrecy.” She continued, the faraway look in her eyes fading. “If the Imperial family found out, we would likely be experimented on, ‘persuaded’ to join the household, or die. At least, that’s what my father told us.”

“Did the same thing happen with your parents?”

“No, they were both fully aware of their Inhuman ancestry.” Jiaying turned her attention back to the family tree. “Qiang and Zhilan had two children; Zhilan found it difficult to become pregnant, at least to my brother. It took her so long, Deshi, who married a year later, had his son before our brother did. When she finally fell pregnant, Qiang was so desperate for Zhilan to carry the child to full term, he absolutely doted on her. She trusted him more after that, and finally they had their son, Rong.” Jiaying drew the addition, leaving enough room for another name. “My niece, Xiulan, was born three years later. She narrowed her whole life’s purpose to becoming a candidate for transformation, that she never considered the possibility of being denied the honour.”

“Why was she?” Grant inquired this time.

“She was too shallow. And after she was point blank refused the one thing she’d done everything for, she sank into a slump. I suppose, now it would be classed as severe depression.”

“Harsh, I know.” Cal put in for the first time in a while. “This was still before World War II, and mental illnesses aren’t so well known these days, either. Something to do with the general human incapacity to feel genuine compassion for a handicap they can’t see.”

“Isn’t that what therapists are for?” Grant asked.

“Why do you think they’re referred to as shrinks?” Cal countered. “It’s difficult for anyone to open up to a stranger, even professionally. How do you think it would be for someone with low self-esteem, or with an anomaly in their brain chemicals that makes them wack out?”

Grant inclined his head, acquiescing to Cal’s point.

“Did they marry?” Skye brought the conversation back to less unhappy tones.

“Rong did. Xiulan never recovered, and died before her twenty-seventh birthday.” Jiaying answered.

“Oh.”

“Rong had two children of his own. He didn’t want as many as my parents, and gave up on having sons after his wife, Pong Meili, gave him daughters.” Jiaying added them in, writing _Meifeng_ under the first line from Rong and Meili, _Yanmei_ written under the next. “Rong then died in World War II, late 1944. He was nineteen.”

“Bit young to be a father of two.” Grant muttered.

“He sounds brash.” Skye added.

“He was.” Jiaying agreed, looking up at her. “Meili didn’t particularly miss him, and she remarried an older man…a very old man. She didn’t get pregnant to him, but she wanted the money and the protection of marriage for her and her daughters.”

“A determined mother.” Cal interjected, not seeming disgusted by the actions at all. He appeared impressed.

“Anyway…” Jiaying continued. “Yanmei never got married either, but that was merely a personal choice. She has been teaching piano in Shanghai for almost three decades.”

“She’s still alive?” Skye asked, eyes wide.

“And wants nothing to do with the family legacy.” She smiled. “But she does like the fact that my gift has allowed her to learn more about our family, from a very first-hand point of view.”

“Each to their own.” Skye said.

“Quite.” Jiaying grinned, always amused at the irony of it. Looking back down, she wrote _Tin Yongrui_ with connecting parallel lines to Meili. “Meifeng is one of my great-grandnieces who was selected. She hasn’t married, but she had a son in 1990 to her then-boyfriend. _He’s_ since left, and Meifeng brought Tengfei here when he was five.”

“Are they still alive?”

“Yes, and Meifeng lives here, but Tengfei’s off on his tour of the world.” Jiaying beamed proudly. “He’s a brilliant young man – makes money wherever he goes, so he’s managed to stay on his own for a while.”

Grant grinned and nudged Skye, causing her to laugh. “I was much the same.” She explained. “Computer genius and all.”

“It’s how we found her.” Grant added. “In an old van parked in an alley using café WiFi.”

“I was in the middle of a podcast!” Skye retorted before seeing the unimpressed looks on her parents’ faces. “…oops?”


	22. Tracking HYDRA

 “Fitz, Simmons, have you got the documents translated yet?” Coulson asked as he walked into the lab. The scientists in question, who were animatedly discussing one of Fitz’s previous inventions from the S.H.I.E.L.D. Science Academy, looked up and halted their conversation.

“A few, sir.” Fitz replied, reaching out to the monitor in front of him and turning it so Coulson could see. “The first one was from Norway, and a very northern part at that.”

“You can be that specific?”

“Norway’s a thin and long country.” Simmons put in. “The top half of it is in the Arctic Circle, and its entire eastern border runs along Sweden, Finland and Russia. There really can’t be anything other than a variety of accents and dialects, so yes, we can be that specific.”

“So which part of Norway is it from?” Coulson moved a little closer, peering at the screen.

“Finnmark.”

“It’s the most northern region,” Fitz explained further. “And covers most of the Finnish border as well as the entire length of the Russian border.”

“It’s far north enough to go mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world, but technologically advanced enough that it’s not likely they’ll stand out.” Simmons pulled a nearby stool over and sat on it. “A perfect place to hide.”

“Hmm.” Was all Coulson said. FitzSimmons glanced at each other, watching their boss with concern when he merely kept his gaze on the screen.

“Sir?” Fitz finally asked.

“Hmm?”

“Are…you going to send any agents to check it out?”

Coulson shook his head. “Not yet. We have some low profile contacts in Sweden, so I can ask them to scout it out.” The scientists nodded. “Anything else that you’ve figured out? I expected these all to be done by two o’clock.”

“The algorithm’s underway, but it took more than one to figure out the sorting process.” Simmons was the one who answered, running a hand through her hair; a sign of oncoming stress. “So many variables and some of them keep changing, like you said.”

“As well as the fact that the documents take longer to translate than expected.” Fitz continued.

“Okay. Well, you’re keeping records of any new changes?” Coulson took it in stride, surprising them with his cool demeanour.

“Yes, sir…but in order to keep up, we’ll need someone awake all the time and a significant increase in the amount of storage space so we don’t lose anything.”

“We need Skye.” Simmons clarified. “She could make it so that it’s fully efficient and automated.”

“And the storage space?” Coulson asked.

“Och, any green techie is capable of that.” Fitz shrugged off the difficulty of the task. “We just need to find the right hard drive.”

“Alright.” Coulson flicked his gaze between the translated documents and the sorting algorithm before he continued. “What about the rest of the few already done?”

Fitz picked up the printed documents beside him and rifled through them. “South Africa, Israel and Siberia.”

“Russia?” Coulson moved to clarify. “As in the Red Room?”

“It’s very possible that the remnants of the Red Room and perhaps even the KGB survive with Hydra’s resources.” Simmons answered. “Considering that the Republic of South Ossetia kept the name for their own secret service after they broke from Georgia with Russian help…” she shrugged, her meaning clear.

“They still had an HQ.” The Director finished, catching up. “And that would be twenty years ago?” He remembered the trouble that S.H.I.E.L.D. had had with keeping tabs on the changing political situations in Europe and Asia in the 1990s.

“At least.” Fitz replied.

“Okay.” Coulson sighed. “What about South Africa?”

“It appears to come from a northern province of the country, but it’s much more difficult to be as specific as Norway.” Simmons said. “And tracking the document didn’t help either, so we assume that it came from one of the cities in the region. Pretoria, Johannesburg or Polokwane, for example.”

“Israel’s filled with military from both the Jewish nation and the United States.” Fitz continued, pulling out the document from Israel. “Hydra could even hide in Hamas, so no one would be able to tell the difference.”

“But the point of origin?” Coulson prompted, an eyebrow raised.

“This particular document came from Tel Aviv.”

Coulson sighed again. “Thank you for this. Keep at it.” He gave an encouraging smile and walked back out of the room.

 

May was sparring with Mack when Coulson walked into the training centre. Mack’s gaze flicked momentarily to the Director, and that was all the distraction May needed; striking at his chin, causing him to reel back while she positioned herself to kick the inside of his knee. Mack lost his balance and toppled over, landing forcefully onto his back. May stood over him, an eyebrow raised in question.

“You got this one.” He grumbled. He held his hands in surrender, and May relaxed. Turning around, she merely looked at Coulson, giving him leave to speak to her.

“From what FitzSimmons have found from the few documents they’ve managed to get through their algorithm,” Coulson began, falling into step with May as she headed for the showers. “Hydra has bases, or at least groups of agents in northern Norway, Siberia, Pretoria-ish,” May cast him an amused look as Coulson held out his hand flat, with the palm facing down and shaking it in a ‘sort-of’ gesture. “And Tel Aviv.”

“Brilliant.” She murmured as she stopped by her locker. “But I thought they’d’ve finished by…” she glanced at the time on her phone. “Half an hour ago?”

“So did they. But it’s a lot more complicated than a few hours of effort.”

May shrugged, understanding that. “Anything else?”

“I was hoping you could get in contact with Agent Romanoff.” Coulson kept his posture calm, knowing his request wouldn’t be well received.

“Phil…” she warned, tensing.

“I just want the two of you to check out Siberia, see what you can find.”

“There’s no way you can ask _her_ of all people to go back–”

“Of course I can. She’s done it plenty of times.”

“Because she was the best agent we had to do those jobs!”

“She’s still the best agent.”

“ _And_ she’s not an agent anymore. At least not for us.”

“May–”

“This is about the Red Room, isn’t it?”

Coulson blinked. “How’d…?”

May rolled her eyes. “You want _Romanoff_ to do a reconnaissance mission in _Siberia_. It’s really not that big of a leap.”

Taking a deep breath, he tried again. “Could you still check on that? It’s not like they’d be expecting her or anyone else to know they’re up there.”

“And I suppose while I’m at it, to mention to her that you’re alive?” She flung the question at him over her shoulder as she marched towards the showers.

Coulson stood there for a moment, remembering that none of the Avengers knew. “Ah.” _This could definitely be a problem._

May was waiting for him in his office after he’d visited Bobbi and explained to her the scientists’ progress. Her hair was still wet, but her expression was as challenging as ever.

“You still want me to go through with this?”

“I would appreciate it, yes.” He said softly as he shut the door behind him.

“Then you tell them.”

Coulson froze, taking in May’s expression and demeanour. She wasn’t kidding. “What?” he asked, his voice a little weak.

“You tell the Avengers – all of them – that you’re alive and well, and then _you_ can ask them personally for their help.”

“I…don’t even know how to get a hold of them.”

“You could try Stark.”

“I don’t have the resources to get through JARVIS.”

“Yes, you do.” May moved closer to his desk, sitting on the edge. “Ask Fitz.”

“He’s busy–”

“Because I’m sure he’d love to check in with Skye.”

He stopped bothering to talk, just staring at his deputy, who subtly raised an eyebrow.

“Okay.” He glanced at the door, torn between calling Fitz to him, or going back to the lab.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake.” May muttered. She reached over to the intercom, and pressed the button to open the channel. “Agent Fitz, report to the Director’s office.” Retracting her hand, she turned back to Coulson. “The equipment is _here_ , after all.”

 

Fitz walked in a few minutes later, holding a thin folder in his left hand.

“We’re not finished yet, but if you’re really insistent, here’s–”

“Fitz!” Coulson raised his voice to be heard over the young man. Fitz quietened immediately. “We didn’t call you here for that.”

“Specifically.” May interjected. Both Fitz and Coulson looked at her, the latter silently asking for her to speak for him. She sighed. “The Russian document has got Coulson thinking that it has something to do with the Red Room.”

“Yeah.” Fitz glanced towards Coulson, then back to May. “We’ve been through that.”

“And I told him that if he wants help from the Avengers, he has to tell them he’s alive.”

“…oh.”

“Yeah.” Coulson muttered.

“So could you ask Skye for help?”

Fitz’s eyes lit up. “Sure! I, ah…I’ll go and tell Simmons.” Without waiting for another word from his superiors, he ran out of the room.

Coulson turned to May and took a deep breath. “Great…”

May just smirked.


	23. Leaving the Afterlife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't mean to take so long. I've got two more chapters in the works (aka, in my head), and then an epilogue. Enjoy :)

Skye took her time folding the pink sleeveless blouse, sighing before she placed it in her suitcase. Grant had suggested to her a couple of days ago that it was probably best for them to leave; get back in touch with their favourite S.H.I.E.L.D. team, find somewhere to settle down, etcetera. His list was long and the points interwove with one another. One of the primary ones was so they could get on with having that baby.

Skye smiled at that last thought, remembering the joy in Grant’s eyes as he spoke of the qualities he wanted for their house.

“Now I wonder what that smile is for.” Jiaying’s voice pulled her out of her reverie. The older woman was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame, an eyebrow raised as she smiled softly at her daughter.

Skye grinned, lowering her gaze back down to her suitcase. “One of the things Grant was talking about once we leave this place was finally having a baby.” She looked back up to see her mother more horrified than delighted.

“Skye, having an Inhuman child outside of Afterlife is very dangerous, especially now!” she exclaimed, pushing off the doorframe and into the room.

“What?” Skye straightened up, a bemused expression pinching her brow. “What are you on about? It’s not like they’ll have abilities when they’re born.”

“But you do!” Jiaying insisted, moving even closer. “And they’ll target any child of yours to get to you.”

“So I’ll hide my powers!” Skye threw up her hands in exasperation and disbelief. “It’s not like I’m trying to be a superhero!”

“What’s going on?” Grant asked as he walked in, bringing the argument between the women to a halt. He glanced suspiciously at Jiaying.

“Jiaying doesn’t want us to leave.” Skye answered, running a hand down her face. Her use of her mother’s name instead of ‘mom’ caused the Inhuman leader to flinch.

“Well, that’s understandable.” Grant said calmly. Both mother and daughter looked at him with surprise; however Jiaying was hopeful while Skye looked hurt. “But it’s not her decision.” He finished, and the expressions on the women’s faces did complete one-eighties. Jiaying looked angry, and Skye beamed.

“May I remind you of the dangers that await any of us once we set foot outside of Afterlife?!” Jiaying took a threatening step towards Grant, causing him to tense. “And a baby has no protection!”

“He or she will have her parents!” Grant snapped back.

“And S.H.I.E.L.D.” Skye added. Her mother whirled around to face her, her anger growing.

“S.H.I.E.L.D.?!” she asked in a dangerously low tone, her voice so quiet, Skye almost missed it. “They will not want to keep you safe. They won’t keep your child safe. They’ll take him or her away and put them in an orphanage where you’ll never find them; just like they did with our family.”

“Let me make this very clear.” Skye advanced on her mother, her tone and stance highly aggressive. “ _Hydra_ took me from you and Dad, and it was _S.H.I.E.L.D._ who put me somewhere where no one else would ever find me, even if that included you.” Her voice softened, trying to get through to Jiaying. “Not even Nick Fury knew. Or Alexander Pierce. And they were the highest level S.H.I.E.L.D. officers in the world. I was _safe_.”

“It won’t just be the director who’ll know, though, will it?” Jiaying replied, her voice flat.

“It’ll be his team.” Grant answered her just as Skye opened her mouth. He moved closer to the pair, careful steps adding silence to his approach.

Jiaying just looked at Skye, her face blank.

“Well, this seems rather awkward.” Cal jovially announced from the doorway. Jiaying was the only one to jump in surprise, Grant hiding his own.

“Can you get Gordon?” Skye asked hurriedly, wanting to avoid an awkward silence.

Cal blinked. “Why? Are you going somewhere?” At once, Jiaying opened her mouth, leaping at the opportunity to gather Cal to her side of the argument, but Skye cut her off.

“I was hoping to have time to say goodbye, and leave tomorrow.” She said, moving back to continue packing her suitcase. “But that’s obviously not going to work, so now would be better.”

“But why are you going?” he strode into the room, hurt and confusion rife on his face. “Don’t you like it here?”

“I do. But I can’t live my life here. Not cut off from almost everything I’ve ever known.”

“You knew us, once.” He now looked defeated.

“I don’t remember that. Plus,” she continued, as heartbreak bloomed on her parents’ faces. “I can’t stay knowing what I know about the world. And I have more than one way to do something about it. Having a family, away from here, won’t stop me. Or Grant.” She glanced at him, the love of her life smiling gently in return. “We’re going. And if you respect me at all, you won’t try to stop us.”

 

The inbox binged, and Fitz glanced up from a prototype of his latest idea. Straightening up, he took quick strides over to the computer and opened the new message. Immediately, he started buzzing with excitement.

“Jemma! Come here!” He raced around the benches in the lab, drawing close to a startled Simmons.

“What is it? Did you get the prototype working?” she asked, placing the test tube she was holding over a flame back in its slot in the rack. She cut the gas to the Bunsen burner and removed her safety glasses before turning to face him.

“No, no, nothing like that. Skye’s coming back!” Fitz’s face was alight with joy, and Simmons found his enthusiasm contagious.

“Oh Fitz, that’s wonderful!” she exclaimed, her own eyes lighting up. Then she soured a little. “Does that mean that Ward is coming back as well?”

“Yes.” He frowned at her. “He helped her get all the intel, blow up Hydra bases and virtually led to the weapons Garrett stole from the Fridge.”

“I suppose.” She mumbled, turning back to her work, but not actually doing anything.

“Jemma, you have to get over the fact that the guy who chose Garrett is gone.” Fitz snapped, thoroughly annoyed. “This attitude is only going to drive Skye away.” Angry, he marched away, leaving Simmons alone in the lab.

Taking a deep breath, Simmons looked over at Fitz’s main computer, the message from Skye still clearly on the screen. Glancing around, she made her way over to it, passing three shelved aisles to reach it.

_‘Hey Fitz!’_ the message read. _‘Grant and I are coming back to S.H.I.E.L.D., though it won’t be for long. We’re planning on settling in suburbia (don’t know where yet) and starting a family. Don’t worry, we won’t be too far from the team! We have tons to tell you, especially about progress on my lifelong search. Say hi to everyone for us! Love you :) Skye.’_

“Progress?” She murmured, her hand reaching up to tug at her bottom lip while she thought. “Oh!”

“Hey, Jemma,” Bobbi strode into the lab, looking a mixture of delight and weariness. “Skye and Ward are nearly here, you wanna come meet them?”

“Oh, yes, sure.” Simmons made her way to the door and continued along the corridor, Bobbi by her side. She snuck a sideways look at the specialist as they neared the hangar door. “You’re not happy about Ward being here either, are you?”

“I don’t trust him, that’s for sure.” Bobbi replied. “Not exactly in the habit of just forgiving and forgetting, especially when it comes to Hydra.”

Simmons nodded, chewing on her lip nervously. Bobbi noticed, however, and stopped her at the juncture of the corridors, the hangar door a few meters away, and open. Simmons could see most of the team gathered, standing a little way away from the door to the outside world. Fitz looked like he was the only one who wasn’t dreading Ward’s return.

“Jemma.” Bobbi said, her tone firm. “What is it?”

Simmons opened her mouth to answer, then shut it again.

“Jemma–”

“It’s not for me to say.” Simmons cut her off. “It was a private message that I shouldn’t have read.”

“What’s it about?”

“Bobbi, please don’t pressure me on this!” Simmons raised her voice a little. The echo appeared to reach to the group gathered in the hangar, because Coulson, May, Mack and Hunter all turned around. Fitz merely glanced over. Refocusing on the specialist in front of her, Simmons interrupted her again, this time before she could say a word. “We should get there before Skye and Ward do.” Pushing past, Simmons hurried towards the rest of the team.


	24. The Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry it's been another hiatus :/ I was trying to figure a way to get everyone to co-operate for the next chapter while still being in character. So I had a bit of writer's block with that. Good news is, I'm all set for the next chapter: featuring The Avengers! :D

 

Grant halted a block away from the Providence surface building, hesitant to meet the members of S.H.I.E.L.D. again. Skye turned to him, a concerned frown on her face.

“Grant?” she asked, and he looked at her, his uncertainty plain to see. She sighed. “Grant, they don’t hate you.”

“Yes, they do.” he muttered, the memories of his actions running through the forefront of his mind and darkening his expression. “They’re not as forgiving as you.”

“Grant Ward.” Skye said firmly, taking a step forward so she was mere inches away from him, and raised a hand to his cheek. “How many _good things_ have you done for those people? Hmm? And how many of them know it?”

“Those numbers aren’t the same.”

“So? We’ll make them know.” Her other hand reached up to settle on his left cheek. “You helped complete my mission with Bobbi, and helped Kara get her mind back. I think Jemma’ll have gotten rid of that mask by now.”

“Three people…maybe.”

“And Fitz is eager to see us again.”

Grant scoffed and turned his head away, his eyes squeezed shut. “I hurt Fitz. I hurt his _brain_.”

“You think that decreases his genius, or something?”

“No…” he turned his head back to face her, his eyes still shut. “I don’t know.”

Skye sighed. “You remember when May found me with Miles?”

Grant’s eyes flew open, then narrowed. “Yes.” He replied bluntly.

“Did you hate me? Even when you felt betrayed?”

“No. But you didn’t hurt anyone.”

“Didn’t I?”

Grant was silent, one eyebrow raised. Clearly, he didn’t understand what she was referring to. “Scorch’s death was on him, and Miles.”

“I wasn’t talking about death. And you haven’t killed any of the team, so why did you jump to that?” Skye’s forehead and nose scrunched up, then she shook her head and moved on before he could speak. “Anyway, I _meant_ that I had betrayed Coulson, and his faith in me. But I earned it back, and with you, and May and FitzSimmons. I apologised, and I meant it. I _proved_ it.”

Grant’s expression looked less haunted by his past actions by the end of her speech, and Skye internally cheered.

“Now, let’s go show them you’re a changed man.”

 

Fitz kept shifting his weight from foot to foot, his hands constantly moving as his fingers twisted around each other, over and over. Simmons stood next to him, her breath held every few moments as she tried to calm her fear – _or was it excitement?_ – and flicked her gaze from her partner to the door.

May and Bobbi stood resolutely still, on either side of the scientists, their own gazes fixed on the door. They had slipped into an at-ease stance, and appeared as if they were guarding the two youngest of the group assembled. Coulson half-mimicked them, standing just as still, but with his hands clenching repeatedly into fists by his sides. Hunter stood a small way away, leaning against the nearest SUV as though he wasn’t worried, although his tight expression showed otherwise.

“Mack, report.” Coulson said quietly.

“I got eyes on them.” Came the reply. “Skye’s talking to him…Ward doesn’t look to happy about something.”

“How does she look?” May asked, her tone worried.

“Healthy, from what I can see. They’re coming this way.” Mack’s abrupt change in tone caused the tension behind the door to increase tenfold. Silence accompanied it, thick and a little uncomfortable.

 

“Hey, Mack.” Skye greeted the agent cheerfully as she approached with Ward by her side. They held hands, and although Mack smiled genuinely in reply, his eyes darted from Skye’s face, to Ward’s, to their intertwined hands, and back to Skye.

“Hey, tremors.” He said, wrapping the woman in a hug. Skye let go of Ward’s hand to hug him back, and Mack noticed that Ward simply slipped his hand into his pocket. The move belied the obvious tension radiating from the rogue agent. Mack kept his eyes glancing between Skye and Ward when he let the former go and nodded towards the door nearby, choosing his words carefully. “They’re all waiting inside.”

While Skye’s eyes lit up with joy, Mack focused on Ward’s reaction. The other man looked to the door Mack had pointed out, his own eyes filled with…was it nervousness? The realisation hit Mack like a truck. _He’s afraid of being rejected._

Mack stepped towards Ward, watching him tense up again as he was eyed warily. Mack kept his face relaxed as he held out his hand for Ward to shake.

“I’m Agent Mackenzie, ‘Mack’ for short. Heard you’ve been helping out a lot against Hydra.”

For a split second, Ward looked stunned. Then he cautiously reached out his hand to shake Mack’s, his entire body letting go of a lot of the tension he had been bottling up.

Skye was beaming beside both of them. As Mack turned away to head to the door, he noticed her stretching up on her toes to kiss Ward on his cheek, and Ward smiling in response. Striding to the door, he opened it, nodded calmly at the assembled agents inside, and glanced back at the couple following him.

As Skye and Ward crossed the threshold, Fitz and Simmons rushed forward to hug Skye.

“I missed you guys!” Skye cried out in delight, squeezing them both at once.

“We missed you, too.” They replied in unison. Then they pulled away, Simmons searching Skye’s face for anything that would justify her concern. Merely seeing happiness and a sense of relaxed calm that had evaded the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents for over a year, she blinked once, smiled and hugged her again. Skye grinned, knowing that Ward’s time back with the team was already going to be a better experience than expected.

Fitz had turned to Ward almost as soon as he let go of Skye, flashing her a smile. Ward tentatively held out his hand for Fitz to shake, a hopeful-yet-slightly-cynical smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Fitz glanced at the offered hand, then grasped it and pulled Ward in for a one-armed hug. Ward’s surprise was palpable to the gathered team members, Coulson, Bobbi and May watching him especially closely, but the surprise was almost instantly replaced by relief and a wide grin. Hunter, eyeing him from his position against the SUV, raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Bobbi. Fitz and Ward pulled apart, and by this time, Simmons had released Skye and turned to face Ward. Ward’s grin subsided somewhat as he beheld her, but the relief at Fitz’s acceptance still lingered in his expression, making him look hopeful and giving him a younger appearance. Having already understood that Skye was happy with this man, Simmons was now willing to welcome him back to S.H.I.E.L.D.

She held out her hand for Ward to shake. The man’s smile started working its way onto his face again, and he reached out to grasp the proffered hand. Neither he nor she pulled the other in for a hug, but the understanding that passed between them caused Skye to smile widely and turn immediately to May. May smiled for the first time since Skye and Ward entered the building and wrapped her arms around the younger woman, taking her eyes off of Ward briefly as she allowed herself to just be happy that Skye was safe and healthy.

Ward now turned to face Coulson. The older man’s face was blank, yet he watched Ward intensely.

Ward glanced down as he gave a short nod. “Sir.” He said respectfully.

The tightness around Coulson’s eyes held for the span of a couple of moments, then as he realised that the younger man was being sincere, he relaxed, and the tension melted away a little. He too held out his hand. This time, Ward hesitated for a second, then accepted the handshake.

“Thanks for the help.” Coulson said, shaking Ward’s hand firmly.

_It was the least I could do._ Ward almost replied, then thought better of it as he imagined the can of worms that those words would open up. He didn’t want to face that yet.

May stepped forward from hugging Skye, drawing level with Coulson on his right side. Ward’s eyes flicked to her, and he held her gaze, a silent apology in his eyes. May nodded once, subtly.

Skye stepped up to Ward’s left side, slipping her hand into his and squeezing it, offering her comfort. He squeezed back, both of them looking at each other, then back at Coulson. The director smiled as he looked at Skye, the woman grinning in reply and she let go of Ward’s hand to hug the man who was like a father to her.

“I missed you so much.” She said quietly in Coulson’s ear.

“I missed you, too.” He murmured back. They released each other, and Bobbi stepped forward, next to May.

“Hey!” Skye exclaimed delightfully. She jumped on the taller woman, wrapping her arms around Bobbi’s neck. Bobbi laughed a little at Skye’s enthusiasm, squeezing her back, her own arms around the other woman’s torso.

“Been too long, Skye.” Bobbi lightly chided, then released her.

“Well, it’s been a bit wild lately.” Skye responded nonchalantly, shrugging.

“Care to elaborate?” May asked, an eyebrow raised. Her expression was open, merely showing curiosity.

“Sure, but somewhere more comfortable. Like, on the sofas?” Skye smiled, taking Ward’s hand again. Her left eyebrow and left side of her mouth tipped upwards together as she uttered the suggestion. May looked at Coulson.

“Come on in.” he said, tipping his head in the direction of the hangar door on the other side.

As the group all started to trickle that way, Fitz sidled up to Skye. “I thought we’d have to contact the Avengers together over whatever background algorithm you use, not you actually showing up in person.” He was smiling, which showed how delighted he was to be surprised by this.

“We weren’t planning on getting here so soon, but clashes of opinion in Af– in the place where we were staying meant we had to leave sooner before things were said and done that would be _really_ regretted later on. Besides, meeting the Avengers? There’s no way I’d miss that!”

“Even though they’d probably be focusing on the fact that they thought Coulson was dead for nigh on two years.” Ward added. His longer stride meant the other two had to walk faster to keep up.

“There is that.”

“But we are getting in contact for more than a ‘surprise, I’m alive!’ conversation.” Fitz said.

“Yeah, about that. What is it that Coulson wants the Avengers for?” Skye turned her head to face him, letting Ward guide her round the quinjets parked throughout the hangar.

“We found Hydra groups from the documents you filched from their database. One’s in Siberia.”

Bobbi, who had been listening in on their conversation, piped up. “Did you know about that?” She directed the question at Ward.

He shook his head. “Hydra was huge, and just like S.H.I.E.L.D., no one knew everything, or much, unless you were in Pierce, Strucker or Whitehall’s inner circle. I was just privy to the general stuff, and whatever Garrett thought was prudent to tell me.”

“So you weren’t in it for Hydra?”

“No.” Ward’s expression soured. “It was a means of survival.”

Bobbi nodded and lengthened her stride, catching up to Hunter and Mack.

“Anyway…” Skye dragged the discussion back to the topic at hand. “Siberia? Is Coulson wanting a raid?”

“Do you have much information on it?” Ward asked. When Fitz shook his head, and muttered something about know even knowing where the agents were, exactly, he nodded in understanding. “So it’s more of a reconnaissance mission.”

“Yep.” Fitz nodded along with his brief reply.


	25. Mission Kickass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to update! Made this one extra long to make up for it :)

The fifth punching bag of the morning burst open, covering the ground in front of Steve with sand, some pieces making it look like confetti. Slowly, he pulled his fist back from the remnants, and the bottom half swung precariously from the top, attached by only one two-inch long piece of material.

Steve stepped back, barely breathing heavily at all. He sighed.

There was no clock in his eye line, so he called out to the AI.

“Eleven-thirty, Captain Rogers.” JARVIS replied.

“Thanks, JARVIS.” Steve started unwrapping the bandage covering the knuckles on his right hand, wandering over to the showers attached to the gym in Stark Tower.

“Sir, Mr Stark would like you to meet him upstairs.” JARVIS added after a moment.

“How long has he been waiting?”

“Around half an hour. Colonel Rhodes, Ms Romanoff and Doctor Banner arrived some time ago.”

Steve frowned. “If it was so urgent, why didn’t you interrupt me earlier?”

“…I believe Mr Stark wants to show you what it is before telling you why.”

“Of course he did.” Steve muttered to himself. _Probably another of his damn inventions._ “I’m on my way.” He said, louder.

“I’ll inform them.” JARVIS sounded…tense? If an AI could get tense, but Steve wasn’t sure what computers were able to do anymore. He was still trying to adjust to the twenty-first century without being thrown for a lurch each time something _futuristic_ happened.

Steve was still in the elevator when JARVIS addressed him again. “Captain Rogers, Mr Stark wants to let you know that he, Colonel Rhodes, Ms Romanoff and Doctor Banner are all currently in a video call with S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Steve blinked. _S.H.I.E.L.D.?_

“What?”

“Apparently a group survived the rise of Hydra and have been expanding carefully over the past year, calling themselves S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Steve pondered this, not sure what to think of it. _What if they have much the same problems as the original S.H.I.E.L.D.?_ “Who’s their leader?”

JARVIS remained silent.

“JARVIS?”

“That is what Mr Stark wants to show you, Captain Rogers. I’m afraid I’m not allowed to tell you anything more than that.”

“Lovely.” Steve remarked dryly as he stepped out of the elevator. Seeing Natasha and Rhodey almost immediately, it didn’t escape his notice that both of them were rigid. Rhodey looked slightly worried and troubled, while Natasha appeared angry. Tony entered his vision next, his leg bouncing at speed almost unconsciously as he scratched his beard. He looked an equal mixture of shock, excitement and anger. That alone made Steve wary. Lastly, Bruce could be seen. He was slumped forward in his seat, his expression one of sad confusion.

“What’s going…” Steve’s voice died in his throat as he looked to his left and saw the face on the screen.

Phil Coulson.

_Phil Bloody Coulson._

“What the hell?!”

“That’s what I said.” Natasha said as Tony raised his hand towards Steve in agreement.

Steve couldn’t take his eyes off the screen. Coulson looked a little apologetic, and behind him, Steve could see a number of men and women, watching him as intently as he was watching Coulson.

“ _How_ is this even possible?!”

“I have no idea.” Bruce said quietly.

Steve turned to face Coulson squarely. “You were dead. You _died_!”

“Yes, I did.” Coulson said. Even his tone was different. It wasn’t the flat, easy calm of an experienced agent. This Coulson sounded forced in his attempt to be placating, an apology clear in his eyes.

It sounded _wrong_.

“Explain.” Steve’s voice was flat, chilling in his anger. Tony and Rhodey eyed him warily. Steve paid them no mind.

“There was a project I was working on prior to Loki turning up through the Tesseract.” Coulson began. “We had found an alien body, and found out that when extracted right, the blood had remarkable healing properties for humans.”

“Healing.” Bruce piped up. “Not ‘resurrection’.”

“We hadn’t used it for that purpose, no.”

“The body, I can understand. Push an electric pulse through and it can mimic a heartbeat. Maybe…maybe it would be enough for alien DNA to repair damage.”

“He was stabbed in the heart.” Tony pointed out. He turned back to the screen. “Alien blood healed _that_?”

“Yep.” Coulson looked somewhat uncomfortable.

“How much detail do we need to understand all that’s gone on since Hydra rose?” Rhodey asked.

“Got a month?” a dark-haired younger man behind Coulson replied. The older man grimaced and glanced down.

“Yeesh.” Tony muttered.

“How long have you been back?” Steve asked, still glaring at Coulson.

“And answer this time.” Tony added.

“…Two years.”

There was a collective, tense inhale in Avengers Tower. The men and women assembled on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s end looked at Coulson and then each other, completely silent.

“будь ты проклят! _Two years?!_ ” Natasha’s voice rose to a shriek. The others weren’t handling it so well either.

“Why weren’t we bloody well told?!” Tony shouted, throwing his hands up in utter frustration.

Steve didn’t speak until the others’ initial outburst had died down. “Why even bother contacting us at all, if it took you so long to get round to it?”

“We need your help.” A few of the people – _agents_ – gathered behind Coulson nodded in agreement.

Steve raised his left eyebrow, looking first at Coulson incredulously, then sharing the look with Tony, Rhodey, Natasha and Bruce in turn.

“You what now?” Tony was the first to break the silence.

“We need your help to end Hydra for good.”

Again, silence permeated, but the looks between the Avengers weren’t so dubious.

“Do you know where they are?” Natasha asked, her voice sharp. “Or did you want help in tracking them down, too?”

“More so the first. We know that they have a significant base in Siberia–”

“Ah.”

“…yep.”

“You want _me_ specifically.”

“There’s no way you’re going there on your own.” Steve interjected pointedly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well,” a woman behind Coulson piped up. She was seated next to the young, dark haired man who spoke earlier. “No offence, Captain, but you’re more than easily recognised pretty much _anywhere_.”

“I never said I would be the one going with her.”

“Yeah, but you’re Steve Rogers.” The woman shrugged.

“And, you are…?”

“Skye Johnson.” She smiled, brightly, but there was a hint of sadness to her eyes. The man beside her reached out and interlocked his hand with hers.

“Who are all of you, anyway?” Rhodey finally spoke up, an eyebrow raised.

Coulson blinked, then turned to the side and started introducing the other people in the room with him. “This is my Deputy, Melinda May.” May nodded briefly at Natasha, who nodded back. “Agents Bobbi Morse, Lance Hunter, Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz, and Alphonso Mackenzie.”

“Mack.” The large man added quickly.

“And, finally, Grant Ward. He’s not really an agent, more like a highly involved consultant.”

“I should get a name tag.” Ward drawled. Skye laughed, Fitz and Morse snickering. Coulson appeared slightly amused, while the Avengers reacted no more than bothering to cock a brow upwards.

The faint sound of boots on concrete filtered through the video feed, and the group in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters all turned towards it. All of them except Skye and Ward reacted defensively, hands reaching for guns in their holsters.

“Finally.” Skye murmured, drawing May’s attention.

“It’s Palamas, isn’t it?” she asked, relaxing back into an at-ease stance. Skye glanced back at her and grinned, looking back at the door in time to see Kara push open the door and stride in, her expression a little on the annoyed side.

“Thanks for letting me know, Coulson.” She grumbled, ignoring the tension of the rest of the agents in the room. “Really appreciate it.”

“Hey.” Skye smiled at her, getting up for a hug. The others relaxed back into their previous positions.

“Good to see you.” Ward added as Kara made a beeline for him after releasing Skye. He stood as well, accepting her hug warmly.

“Sorry, Agent Palamas, but we weren’t sure how Ward being back would go.” Coulson addressed her once the greetings were done. “Considering how your return went.”

Kara merely nodded briefly in acknowledgement, but was still clearly irritated. Looking at the screen she plastered a smile on her face and introduced herself to the Avengers.

“Hi, I’m Kara Palamas. I was known as Agent 33 before S.H.I.E.L.D. fell.” Natasha nodded in understanding, remembering the woman, while the others smiled back. “No need for introductions on your parts, I already know who you all are.”

“…and back to the topic at hand.” Coulson continued after a beat, swivelling around to face the screen.

“So what’s the plan with taking them out?” Rhodey asked, leaning back in his seat.

“At the moment, that’s still in progress.” Coulson began. Simmons jumped in to explain.

“We only have information pertained to their location, within a twenty mile radius. The documents didn’t state what their security detail was, or _exactly_ how essential it is to the organisation. We have most of their data, of course, but it’s all encrypted.”

“Yeah, and who knows how long that’s gonna take.” Fitz added.

“So any volunteers would be nice.” Simmons finished.

Steve’s attention was drawn to the couple behind Coulson – Skye and Grant? – as they looked at one another, conversing silently.

“We’ll go.” Skye said. Coulson and May opened their mouths to argue, but she cut them off. “You’ll need an Inhuman over there.”

“And there’s no way I’m sitting over here doing nothing.” Ward added, his tone leaving no room for argument.

“I’ll go, too.” Bobbi spoke up, side-lining a glance at Ward.

“Normally, I wouldn’t, but I think it’s more than time to kick some Hydra ass.” Mack said.

“Well said.” Natasha murmured. Steve glanced round at her, chiming in with his own decision to join the mission team as he faced the screen once again.

 

“Skye, stop.” May heard Ward groan for the third time. Smirking with amusement, she looked around at them to see Ward staring, unimpressed, down at Skye. His arm was wrapped around her waist, the other holding an ICER weapon at his side. Even as May watched, the hard set of his mouth twitched upwards at the corner, and she knew Skye was smiling.

The sound of someone approaching caused her to turn her head back around. Bobbi was walking over, loading her semi-automatic pistol with a cartridge of rounds.

“Taking precautions?” May asked, jerking her chin at the gun.

“Always.” Bobbi replied, and glanced at Ward. May nodded. She didn’t trust Ward either.

Simmons walked into the hangar, an ICER in her hands and her eyes scanning the room. As soon as she spotted May, she hurried over at a fast walk.

“May, it’s ready.” she said.

“Is that…?” Bobbi began to say, halting when May shot her a look.

“The extra strength ICER?” Simmons nodded. “Just in case.”

“Thanks, Simmons.” May smiled at her. Simmons smiled back, then looked over at Skye and Ward.

“If you’re worried about Ward, don’t be.” Bobbi said softly, seeing Simmons’ pinched expression. She received a raised eyebrow from both the women with her in return.

“Don’t worry about Ward?” Simmons breathed, disbelief colouring her voice. “Have you forgotten what he’s done? Only yesterday, you said you didn’t trust him.”

“I don’t. But along the lines of not forgetting what he’s done, he’s helped us a _lot_ lately. Probably more than he’s ever helped Hydra. Thanks to him, we essentially have a God complex over them now.” Bobbi shrugged. “Skye trusts him. _And_ she trusts us. So maybe we’re all on the same team?”

“At least for now.” May muttered.

“Hey, DC!” they heard Skye call. Glancing round, May saw Skye looking at the hangar door, where Coulson was just walking out. He was still clad in his suit. Clearly, he wasn’t planning on going on the mission himself.

“When are they gonna get here?” Skye continued.

“They should be arriving right about…now.” he answered, ending the sentence just as the hangar roof mechanics started opening the large room to the sky. A quinjet blurred into view as the deflector shields were switched off, and the roof began closing. The agents gathered in the hangar made their way over to the space set aside for the Avengers to touch down, and the quinjet alighted on the ground quickly.

“Oh my god…” Skye breathed, excitement making her voice squeaky. Ward rubbed her back with his thumb.

“I can’t believe we’re _actually_ meeting the Avengers!” Fitz said, his own excitement lighting up his face. He had a wide grin spreading from ear to ear, and while Simmons was just as delighted that the world’s most famous superheroes were metres away, she couldn’t keep her eyes off him for long, constantly glancing back.

“I really hope none of them punches me in the face.” Coulson said. A nervous smile played on his lips, his eyes glancing round at the members of his team.

“As opposed to anywhere else on your body?” Hunter quipped, an eyebrow raised. Ward pursed his lips together tightly, not wanting to laugh.

“Well, in the event that it _does_ happen–” Coulson began to say, slowly. Mack cut him off to finish the sentence.

“I’m really glad the hangar has CCTV.”

Ward couldn’t keep his snickering to himself this time, but neither could everyone else. Even May was laughing; her eyes were closed and her head bowed as she shook it, her body shaking with her amusement.

The quinjet door finally opened. Skye half-expected it to release white smoke, like a dramatic action movie scene. Footsteps echoed off the metal; six pairs, some heavier than others. Then the Avengers came into view.

Captain America strode forward confidently, wearing jeans and a leather jacket instead of his stars-and-stripes uniform, but carried his shield on his right arm. Black Widow followed at his left hand side, her steps lighter and quieter than the Captain’s. She had a pistol holster strapped to each thigh, and her eyes darted around the room, taking in every detail. Hawkeye carried himself with much the same demeanour, striding alongside his partner with his quiver and bow slung across his back. Bruce Banner had none of the obvious confidence that the Captain had, but his expression was friendly.

Iron Man and War Machine came out as exactly that; fully clad in their suits. Their footsteps were the loudest, clanging as metal struck metal, again and again. They were the last to get off the quinjet, Iron Man just ahead of War Machine and standing out the most in the iconic hot rod red and gold trim.

As the waiting group were not standing too far away, it took all of fifteen seconds for the Avengers to reach them once they’d gotten off of the aircraft. Coulson let his gaze drift over the assembled superheroes, but he looked back at Steve Rogers, who’d stopped just in front of him.

“You’re still mad.” The agency director noted, more calmly than he aimed for. He silently cursed himself for sounding aloof.

“You think?” Rogers demanded, his frustration at the entire situation evident in his eyes.

“And he’s not the only one.” Iron Man spoke up as he stood next to his colleague. The mask plate lifted up to expose Tony Stark’s face, equally annoyed.

Skye sucked in a breath, fangirling quietly.

“You have a _lot_ to make up for, Coulson.” Barton continued walking until he was right up in Coulson’s face, then laid him out with a lightning fast right hook.

“Barton!” May snapped, pushing the sniper away. She crouched down next to the director, who was completely out cold.

“Sorry I didn’t have a video call to straighten things out.” He retorted. “All I got told was ‘You remember Coulson? Well, he’s alive, and hey, he’s asked us to kick Hydra butt for him.’ But I suppose I should be grateful to be _informed_ , shouldn’t I?”

May sighed, and shared a look with Bobbi. “Mack.” she called. “You’ll need to carry him.”

“Great.” His reply was flat, and he sent Barton a highly unimpressed look as he passed him. “Where to?”

“His office. Might as well get on with briefing them about the mission particulars.”

 

Coulson stirred, feeling a throbbing pain near his left temple.

“Finally. I was beginning to wonder if you’d wake before we left.”

“Huh?” he mumbled, confused at the male voice that managed to work its way through the fuzz in his brain.

“The Avengers are all briefed and heading down to the hangar to get ready to leave, and Morse, Kara and Skye are all down there with them.” The voice said. It sounded familiar, but the words didn’t make him tense up as much as the feeling of suspicion as to who was the owner of said voice.

He opened his eyes to find Grant Ward, of all people, standing over him, quite casually. What baffled him more was that May, Hunter and Mack were standing behind him as though the traitor being there was no problem. He blinked, and in an effort to get his bearings and decide how to proceed, glanced around the room.

He was in his office, on the sofa. In The Playground.

What was Grant Ward doing in The Playground, and how the hell did he get in?!

He glanced back at Ward, who was still watching him. One eyebrow was raised a little, as though he was a tad concerned. “Coulson, you okay?” he said. “You took quite a hit.”

He decided to waste no more time; he launched himself off of the sofa and towards Ward’s holster, going for the gun. He grabbed it and held it up, aiming at the traitorous agent.

“Whoa, Coulson!” Ward reeled back, surprised. Coulson now noticed that Ward’s weapon was an ICER, and it occurred to him that if Ward _really_ didn’t want him to have it, he would easily have stopped him rather than do what he did. Ward raised his hands in a surrender gesture, looking more than a little concerned now.

Something vague slotted into place in Coulson’s mind. This confusion could be explained by one of two things: one, he was dreaming. It would explain the out-of-character actions by members of his own team. Two, this was real, but he’s forgotten something. Something important, clearly.

His head throbbed painfully again. He needed a Tylenol. Raising his hand to his head, he pinched the bridge of his nose tightly, squeezing his eyes shut as well.

“Could one of you do something?” he heard Ward ask. Opening his eyes, the scene before him hadn’t changed, only Ward was now looking round at the others in the room for help.

“I don’t know, I’m kind of enjoying this.” Hunter chuckled. Ward narrowed his eyes at him.

_…so, not a dream?_

“Really? Like now’s the time for this.” The former agent snapped, annoyed at Morse’s ex-husband.

“Ward’s right.” May spoke up, stepping closer to the director.

 _…or it is a dream?_ Coulson looked at her like she was crazy, flicking his gaze back to the man on the other end of the ICER.

“Phil.” May continued as though he wasn’t feeling like he was going mad inside. “Give the ICER back to Ward. We have to leave for the mission ASAP.”

“What…?” he shook his head, more confused than ever. “What mission? What are you talking about?”

The room was silent.

“Uh-oh.” Ward said after a few moments. Hunter nodded along, his face showing nothing but blank surprise.

“’Uh-oh’ is right.” Mack agreed.

The whole group looked around at each other, worried.

“What’s going on?!” Coulson burst out. “Why is Ward here?”

“Because you’re okay with it…?” Ward answered, looking like someone had slapped him, but also like he’d walked into something he’d rather not be in.

“Why on earth would I be okay with it? You betrayed us!”

“Well, that rules out amnesia.” Hunter piped up.

“Very useful.” Ward said sarcastically.

“Phil.” May was now being very cautious. That just made Coulson feel worse. “What’s the last thing you can remember?”

“The…” Coulson had to really think back. He was still holding the ICER at Ward, but the younger man had lowered his arms. “The…video that Fitz showed us after Palamas and Skye swapped…” his voice trailed off as he focused on Ward once again. “Where is Skye?!” he demanded.

“Safe!” Ward replied defiantly.

“In the hangar.” Hunter said at the same time.

“With the Avengers.” Mack added after them.

“I’m really confused right now.” he whispered, just loud enough for May alone to hear.

“I noticed.” She replied in the same tone.

 

Skye was equally worried, impatient and excited. Worried because Coulson was still out cold when they finished the briefing and left the office to begin the mission; impatient because everyone in the hangar was ready, and what was taking Grant and May so long?; and excited because she, of all people, was going on a mission with the Avengers.

And her powers put her on an equal par with them.

“You can what now?” Tony Stark had asked, shocked. His eyebrows were raised until they could clearly be seen above his aviators, which he apparently liked to wear inside. He had made a show of coming out of his Iron Man suit before they all trooped upstairs after Mack, May and Coulson. Colonel Rhodes, exiting his own War Machine suit, rolled his eyes and gestured at Stark saying, “You see what I have to put up with?” before smiling at the agents around him and shaking their hands.

“I can sense and cause vibrations.” Skye simply stated. The rest of the Avengers were looking at her with mixed expressions of surprise, awe, and pity.

“How?” Banner asked, taking his glasses off. He was still holding the information pages on the mission in his right hand.

“It’s…a long story.” Skye started. Then she took a deep breath and tried to simplify it. “Basically, ancient aliens experimented on my ancestors, and changed their DNA to allow them to develop special abilities when exposed to a chemical mist hidden in alien-made crystals.”

“I suppose we’ll have to wait until _after_ the mission to get the rest of it, but it sounds pretty crazy.” Barton spoke up after a few moments of silence.

“Well, I’m up for a good old shindig once we’re done.” Stark added. “Beers on me?” Hunter and Mack raised their hands simultaneously at this, while Bobbi just smiled and rolled her eyes.

Hurried footsteps in the corridor towards them yanked Skye out of that particular memory. Focusing, she recognised the heartbeat of the person; Grant. She immediately headed for the hangar door, drawing the attention of her mission colleagues.

When he emerged from the entrance, Skye felt the Avengers’ collective surprise. Whether it was because she knew there was someone coming before anyone heard him, or that Grant was the only one approaching, she couldn’t be sure. Not that that was her main concern.

“What’s going on?” she asked, her brows pinched together with worry.

Grant looked troubled. “We have a problem.” He said, switching his gaze from her to the others. Skye drew herself up and halted on the spot, now utterly anxious and confused.

 

“Thanks, Clint.” Rogers said, his voice low and sarcastic. May looked up from Coulson, who was sitting on the sofa, now ICER-less. She had laid the weapon on the desk, and kept the director from touching anything else.

“What?” Barton voice was defensively high-pitched, as though he had done nothing wrong. “I didn’t hit him that hard!”

“Clearly.” May heard Ward quip, also dealing out a fair amount of sarcasm. “Because the ICER he pointed at me was all part of an act.”

“It’s not like it was an actual gun.” Barton retorted, then the office door opened, and the slight muffling that the walls provided was rendered moot. “Try chilling out.”

“He’s supposed to co-ordinate the entire operation, Barton! Are we supposed to brief him on more than a month’s worth of whatever’s been going on?!” Ward strode through the office door and headed straight for herself and Coulson. “Is he still the same?”

“Still just as confused.” She replied.

“Could you stop talking about me like I can’t speak for myself?” Coulson piped up.

“We’re not.” Ward answered.

“But you _are_ confused. And completely unprepared for this situation.” May added.

“In the meantime,” Romanoff said, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “We still have this mission to complete. We can’t put it off until he recovers, it’s an indefinite amount of time.”

“I’ll stay here.” May said. “I’ll need to keep an eye on him anyway.”

“We’re going up against _Hydra_ , May, you can’t oversee the mission _and_ keep an eye on the partial amnesiac.” Ward rebutted. “Besides, you hate being out of it.”

“He’s right.” Bobbi spoke up just as May opened her mouth to rebuke him. “Don’t bother fighting him on this, May, we don’t have the time for a complicated problem solving session. I’ll stay, have Fitz with me for any technical back up you need, and Simmons can go for onsite medical and tech support.”

“You hate that just as much as I do.” May said softly. Bobbi just shrugged.

“It’s the right move.” Romanoff said. “Morse can run the op from here, and you’ll have command on the ground. We’ll need the different perspectives, anyway.”

“So what are you gonna do with me?” Coulson asked.

The agents looked at each other before Skye answered.

“There’s plenty of people here at the base, you can go down to the infirmary, get checked over and what not.”

“Fine.” He muttered.

“Great, we’re sorted.” Ward said, with a tone of finality in his voice. “Shall we go?”

 

“You ready?” Skye asked him softly.

“Yeah,” Ward said, not really feeling it. “You?”

She smirked; she knew he was lying. “Yeah.” She replied.

They were standing at the back of one of the two quinjets, alongside Romanoff, Barton, Hunter and May. Rogers, Stark, Rhodes, Mack, Banner and Simmons were in the other. The aircraft had flown from The Playground straight to Siberia, stopping on a US aircraft carrier in the Bering Sea just off the coast of Alaska to fuel up. The officer in charge wasn’t too happy, but Stark wrote out a cheque for fifteen million dollars to be shared amongst the crew in exchange for the fuel, and the man waved them on.

They were nearing the site identified as the Hydra base, and the quinjets slowed, landing on the snow a couple of miles away. The deflector shields remained active on both, hiding them from any overhead patrol.

“The base is north of here, right?” Hunter asked after they were all disembarked.

“Yep.” Rogers answered, putting his shield into place on his back. “Morse, you’ll let us know if we’ve got any company headed our way?”

“Sending drones out right now.” Bobbi replied. A whirring could be heard from the quinjets, creating an eerie effect as the aircrafts were still invisible. Then small drones appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and flew off in every direction. As the team was heading north towards the base, most of the little robotic scouts covered the area ahead of them.

“Your GPSs should vibrate if one of the drones picks up any movement.” Fitz added.

“Thanks.” May said. “Let’s move.”

As none of them, save Simmons, needed anything more than weapons and cold climate gear, they were soon on their way and making a single file trail northbound. To confuse anyone who happened to come across their tracks, they each deliberately stepped in the footsteps of the person in front of them. Stark went first, providing cover for everyone behind him. Following in order was May, Skye, Ward, Banner, Barton, Hunter, Romanoff, Mack, Simmons, Rogers and Rhodes, who brought up the rear.

For the entire two miles to the base, they walked in silence. The knowledge that they were close to Hydra, and a step closer to ending the decades-old fight between the two organisations, weighed on the members of the team. The anticipation caused a tense atmosphere, with Bobbi and Fitz remaining quiet on their end of the comms.

Hunter eventually spoke.

“Oh, would you look at that. They’re into underground bases too.”

All that could be seen from the ground, where the team gathered, was an old, small metal building covered in snow. It had one door and could be mistaken for a disused outpost if the agents didn’t know what was in that exact spot.

“You’re there.” Bobbi confirmed.

“Depending on how far down the base goes,” Fitz said. “The comms might not work.”

“And the GPS?” Ward asked.

“We’ll be able to tell where you are at all times, no matter the depth.” Came the reply. “They’re ones I designed. I was working on doing the same for the comms, but all I’ve managed to get so far was a bulky prototype that works but is highly impractical.”

“You’ll get it.” Ward said.

“In the meantime…” Barton brought the conversation back to the mission. “Is the door booby trapped and can they see us right now?”

“Ward?” May asked.

Ward half-frowned and raked his gaze over the building. “They’d be stupid to not have some sort of surveillance at their entrance, and I doubt this this is their only one. Whether there’s someone watching the footage right now, however…we can’t be sure of that until they do something.”

“And for the booby trap part of the question?” Romanoff prodded.

Ward shrugged. “Anyone got a rock?”

“Hilarious.” Bobbi said flatly. “Any real suggestions?”

“You could’ve asked me.” Stark stepped forward and looking round at the rest of them. His tone was of mock offence.

“God help us if we don’t consult you on a door.” Rhodes said sarcastically.

“Talk about touchy.” Stark replied before facing the door. “JARVIS?”

“Analysing right now, sir.” JARVIS answered. The rest of the team members were watching Stark, unable to hear the AI. “Sir, it appears that without the correct identification, the surface building is set to explode instantly.”

“Lovely.” Stark stated flatly.

“Verdict?” May asked.

“ID or boom.” He made a shockwave gesture with his hands.

“Simmons, is this something you and Fitz could figure out?” Ward turned to the scientist.

“Well, Fitz was working on a master ID card several months ago…” she started, her tone thoughtful as her brows pinched together in concentration.

“I packed it!” Fitz blurted out through the comms. A few of them winced at the volume. “Jemma, it’s in the case in the pouch in the back pocket of your backpack.” Simmons followed his directions and pulled out a small black box.

“I’ve got it.”

“Hold on a moment…” Fitz muttered as he delved through the Hydra files to find an identification that wouldn’t raise any eyebrows for the location.

“Getting cold here, Fitz.” Barton piped up.

“Almost, just…there.” Just as Fitz spoke the last word, a light blinked into existence on the box in Simmons’ hand, flashing several times before remaining on.

“Does that mean it’s ready?” Rogers asked.

“Yes.” Simmons said, opening the case and removing the card. It was an off-white colour, and looked like a standard access card; the only marking on it was a multi-digit number stamped into the side. She moved towards the door.

“Wait!” Rhodes said, hurrying over. “I think someone with a bulletproof suit should do it.” He smiled tightly. “In case of explosion, and all.”

“Right.” Simmons said, glancing at Skye. The latter looked concerned.

“We should probably all move back as well.” Ward said, clearly beating Rogers to the punch, who had just opened his mouth to give the same suggestion. The group glanced around at each other before making their way backwards.

Once they were all at least a hundred metres away, Stark spoke up.

“Be careful, Rhodey.” He said.

“Yep, thanks.” Rhodes replied quietly as he turned to face the building. “Well, here goes nothing.”

He held the card up to the scanner. The light at the top flashes red twice, then flicked to green and held steady.

“We’re in.” he said to Stark, who relayed the information.

“Please tell me that’s all there is.” Bobbi said over the comms, her voice slightly strained.

Rhodes didn’t get a chance to answer before the door opened and he came face to face with a Hydra soldier aiming a hand-held missile launcher at him.

“Uh-oh.” He muttered. Behind him in the snow, the others raced for the door, all knowing there was something wrong.

“Hail Hydra!” the man shouted.

Fortunately, the man never got to release the missile. Skye, whilst running at full tilt for the entrance, raised her right hand and slowly relinquished her hold over her abilities. The missile launcher and the man holding it began to shake violently.

“Move!” Skye yelled. Everyone threw themselves out of the way as Skye manipulated the vibrations to toss the man and the launcher out of the building and far behind them. As they hit the ground, the missile exploded.

“Come on.” May said, mobilising her troops. “Before they have more time to send another one up.”

Everyone piled into the room, the fit a little tight.

“Now what?” Hunter asked, looking around. “Anyone see an extra door, or…?”

“Hold up.” Fitz said. A few seconds went by of radio silence. “According to the blueprints we have of this base, the only way in through there is down.”

“As in, straight down?” Rogers queried.

“Well, how do we manage that?” Rhodes sounded a little sceptical. “There’s no other scanner to use the card on.”

“I have an idea.” Skye blurted out. “Everyone stay still and away from the walls.” As the others complied, Skye shut her eyes allowed her senses to vibrate the walls, floor and ground, enough to get a read of the mechanics.

“Hmmm.” She hummed thoughtfully. Releasing the catch that held the door open, it slammed shut, thrusting the room into darkness. If it weren’t for the light emanating from Iron Man’s suit, it would be pitch black.

“Great. Now we’re stuck.” Barton said, followed by a solid smacking sound and a yelp of pain. “Nat!” he complained.

Ward sniggered, and turned his attention back to Skye. A faint whirring sound reached his ears, as though it was coming from below them.

“Anyone else hear that?” Banner finally spoke.

“Yep.” Ward, May, Rogers and Romanoff answered.

“To be honest, I thought that was my suit on overdrive.” Stark added.

“When is your suit _ever_ on overdrive?” Rhodes said exasperatedly.

“Quiet.” Skye commanded, and the room fell silent. “There.” She breathed, and floor finally shook for a moment before descending into the Hydra base.

“Here we go.” Mack said. But whether he was more terrified or excited, he wasn’t sure.

 

The large group crept out of the elevator once it reached the bottom, weapons armed, aimed and at the ready.

“They’re coming.” Skye said, striding forward and ahead of the others. The corridor in front of them stretched for a few metres before splitting off in three directions.

“How many?” May asked as she and Ward hurried to keep pace with her.

“Round about a couple dozen.” Skye tilted her head. “Not exactly light weapons, either.”

“Please tell me none of those happens to be a missile launcher.” Rhodes piped up. “If I have to get another one of those in my face again…” he trailed off, his meaning clear.

“They’re not gonna launch one inside their base.” Ward replied, in a tone that implied he thought it was obvious.

“Well, excuse me.” Rhodes snipped back.

“Guys, focus.” Bobbi cut in.

“Oh, you can still hear us?” Stark piped up.

“How close are they?” Romanoff moved closer to Skye, keeping a wary eye on the junction of the corridors.

Skye didn’t need to answer. The group of heavily armed men appeared in the corridor straight ahead of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team, running pell-mell towards the intruders.

“You got this?” Ward asked quietly.

“I got this.” The Inhuman replied, raising her hand. The air itself soon started to shake, and the men charging at them lost their footing on the cold, concrete surface. They crashed to the ground, shouts of surprise and pain ringing out.

Skye slowly started to advance on them, her attention completely narrowed at the enemy soldiers. She dialled up the intensity of the vibrations, the men now shaking as though they were a baby’s rattle. Around her, her teammates moved forward as well, weapons raised and ready. They kept a watchful eye on the other two corridors as they passed them, with the Avengers also watching the scene curiously.

When the last soldier had passed out, Skye reined in her power. Her hand dropped to her side and the shaking subsided. Ward reached out to place a hand on her back, silently offering his comfort, and letting her know that he was still there. He knew she never liked this part of the gift. She turned her face towards him, and they shared a small smile.

Hunter let out a low whistle. “Damn, downing a couple dozen men without hurting them? That’s–”

“They _were_ hurt, that’s how they passed out.” Skye cut him off, her tone low.

“Probably brain damage.” Stark mused out loud. Everyone looked at him incredulously, Rhodes smacking him upside the head. “Sorry.”

“Let’s move.” May said. She started striding in the direction of the soldiers when Skye called out to her.

“Not that way.” The Inhuman said. “It’s just barracks down there.”

“What about weapons?”

Skye glanced behind May, then closed her eyes. She raised her hand again, and lowered it within a matter of moments. Then a split second later an explosion blew up the end of the hall. May ducked as a piece of debris flew overhead.

“Now more people are dead.” Skye said flatly. “Shall we move?”

“Which way, though?” Mack asked. “Left or right?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Fitz announced over the comms. “They both loop round to the main part of the base.”

“Just stick together.” Bobbi added.

“Will do.” Barton replied. “Let’s go left.” Passing Skye, Ward and Simmons, he strode off in the direction he said.

 

The others followed him, some jogging to keep up. Every time they passed a doorway with people inside, the team members would either ICE them, if they were scientists, or kill them if they were not. The scientists were then tied up, removed from all communication devices and locked in the rooms they were found in.

It took them half an hour to work their way down the kilometre stretch of communal hallway as it wound and weaved its way towards the main section of the base. Around halfway through, they lost communication with Bobbi and Fitz.

“I hope they’re not too worried.” Simmons murmured when this happened. She, like a couple of others, chose to leave the comms device in her ear in case communication with The Playground was restored.

“We’re in a Hydra base, how worried would you be?” Ward said.

“Not helping.” Simmons snapped back.

Eventually, they reach a metal door, locked with a pin and signalling the end of the corridor.

“Here we are.” Banner said.

“Can you tell what’s on the other side?” Ward asked Skye.

“Yep.” She replied. “One big, big room. This door’s about halfway up one wall.”

“What would they need such a large room for?” Rogers queried.

“Something not good.” Skye looked at Banner. “You might wanna Hulk out.”

“Great.” He muttered.

“What’s the security in there like?” Romanoff asked.

“Tight. We’ll be on exposed stairs to the ground, so I’ll cover you, but then you gotta find shelter once you’re down there.”

“Rhodey and I’ll distract some of them.” Stark offered. Skye nodded.

“Everyone ready?” Rogers looked around. Nods of affirmation were his only replies. “Good. Tony, you and Rhodey go out first. Skye, bullets will fly as soon as that door opens, so have your vibration shield up before that.”

“Gotcha.” She answered.

“Rest of you, get ready to run. Ward, that means you as well. Skye doesn’t need any distractions.”

“Bu–” Ward started to argue.

“Grant, it’s fine. Stick with May.” Skye cut him off. Smiling, she squeezed his hand. He couldn’t return it.

“Simmons, you’re with me.” Rogers finished.

“Right.” Simmons replied.

“Tony, if you’d like to do the honours…”

“It’d be my pleasure.” Stark agreed, striding to the door. Rhodes remained beside him. Skye raised her hand, allowing the particles in the air in front of the group to tremble. The door started shaking with it.

“Thought you could do with the help.” She smirked as Stark looked back at her.

“Tony, either you do it, or I will.” Rhodes said bluntly.

“Fine, fine.” Stark faced the door again, raised his foot, and slammed it into the door. It flew off its hinges, hitting the railing of the stairs and spinning away into the cavernous hangar of the room beyond. It was three times the size of the hangar in The Playground.

Immediately, Iron Man and War Machine jetted out through the doorway, zooming upwards and away from each other, drawing some of the fire that rang out when the door became detached from the wall. Skye had already moved forward as the suited men in armour flew into the hangar, and she remained in the doorway, half hidden behind the wall as she concentrated on deflecting bullets away from the staircase. Agent after agent hurried past her, each racing down the stairs and darting behind cargo boxes that were littered around the floor.

The detached door lay part way along the tarmac floor, dented and leaning against a body, one of the two security members that it had hit. The other man lay mere feet away.

Once Skye gave the go-ahead, Rogers exited the corridor first, Simmons hot on his heels. He held his vibranium shield up, covering the scientist and giving her an extra bit of protection. Close behind them were Mack and Hunter, their weapons up and ready to fire, but with that amount of hesitation in their stances that clearly proclaimed that they didn’t know what would happen to their bullets while Skye was bending the laws of physics in front of them.

Romanoff and her partner followed, their eyes darting around like the trained spies they were, but they wasted no time in getting to the ground. Banner trailed behind them, glad that he had given his glasses to Simmons earlier, and doing his best to quell the urge to transform into the Hulk while on the narrow metal staircase.

May and Ward followed Skye’s advice and partnered up. While there wasn’t a lot of trust between them, they fell into an easy rhythm of watching each other’s backs. It was obvious that their past experience of working together was paying off for this mission.

Skye was now the only team member left in the corridor. Just as she stepped onto the top platform to descend, Rhodes called out to her.

“Skye, watch out, he’s got a freakin’ missile launcher!”

She glanced in the direction of the man with the launcher aimed directly at her. He was a few metres away from the dented, detached door, almost halfway along the floor. He loosed the missile.

“Skye!” Ward yelled from below, but she barely heard it. What she did hear, and sense, was more soldiers running in the corridor, close behind her. So instead of stopping the bomb, and pushing it away, Skye leaped up onto the railing and jumped. Flinging her arms out and downwards, she propelled her momentum further than any ordinary human. She appeared to be flying instead of falling.

Just in time, she was clear of the initial blast radius when the missile hit the doorway. The resulting shockwave that rippled through the hangar added to the lift that Skye was already giving herself. She nearly made it to the other end, landing somewhat clumsily near the monster of a machine that Hydra was developing. The troop of soldiers in the hallway all died instantly from the bomb blast.

“What the bloody hell is that?” Hunter exclaimed, looking around his makeshift cover at the gigantic cargo plane. At least, that was one initial interpretation of it.

Ward wasn’t paying any attention to anything else other than the fact that Skye was on the other side of the hangar, surrounded by enemy agents. She appeared on guard and holding her ground, but he worried that it wouldn’t be for long.

“Ward!” May shouted, finally getting his attention. “Try focusing!”

“Right.” He shook his head and scanned his immediate surroundings. His back’s covered; the rest of the team are both behind and to the right of him. There are a couple of Hydra agents to his left; take them out first. Several agents are bearing down on them, firing as they approach. Highly dangerous. Barton and Romanoff were already taking on a decently sized group of soldiers further along the back wall of the hangar. Banner was transforming into the Hulk. Ward suddenly understood the exhilaration – whether materialising as fear or awe – that accompanies watching the man become the green beast. The flying suits of armour were drawing fire from men who would otherwise be attacking Skye; there were at least a hundred enemies over the other side. He was appreciative of Stark and Rhodes’ assistance.

Knowing he needed all his focus directed at the onslaught of Hydra fire, Ward ducked down further and moved backwards, shooting the arms and then the heads of the two enemies as they slid into view. He returned to his position beside May.

“Any ideas?” she asked.

“Uhh…” Ward looked around, and saw Simmons crouching next to Rogers, who was preparing to run at the soldiers. “Wait for him to do a little disrupting?”

May glanced around at what he was looking at. “Worth a shot.” She agreed.

In the background, the Hulk was chasing down engineers of the enormous metal contraption, breaking down the barricaded door in the far wall to get at them. Screams were heard; a stark contrast to the deep roars of the large green Bruce Banner.

Rogers waited a couple more seconds before launching himself from behind his cover and charged at the nearest group. The four men tuned their guns on him almost simultaneously, but Ward could see their fear and it showed in the way they desperately tried to shoot the super soldier dead. Rogers just held his shield up in front of his head and torso, allowing the bullets to deflect harmlessly off the surface.

He reached the soldiers in mere seconds, knocking two backwards with one swipe of his shield. The others nearly tripped over each other trying to get away, but May and Ward took aim from their own cover and gunned them down. More of the soldiers firing upon the team started to recognise the threat from Captain America as he used his shield, legs, arms and pistol to take them out one by one. Ward darted out, followed closely by May, as the numbers opposing them decreased.

They jumped into the fray, moving in synchronisation around each other, their enemies falling like tenpins. Ward shot the nearest agent dead, using his body as a temporary cover while he advanced on the dead soldier’s colleagues. May shadowed him, breaking free of the cover he supplied when a group of seven, in their anger, moved within range of her martial arts. Ward used a mixture of punches, limb-breaking and shots fired to take out three of the advancing seven, while May ducked and wove around the rest and their flailing arms and legs, knocking them off balance before stunning them instantly with vicious blows to the head.

Within moments, the Hydra security in that one particular section was completely taken out; either injured, unconscious or dead. Ward, Rogers and May still stood in their fighting stances, eyes darting around them. Slowly they relaxed a little and turned their attention to the other soldiers, most of whom were converging on the singular threat that was Skye. The others were battling the partnership of Hawkeye and Black Widow nearer to the oversized aircraft. Hunter and Mack made their way to the Captain and his two compatriots-in-arms, guns out and acting as bodyguards for Simmons.

Just as they all, collectively, started walking towards Skye and her impressive display of power against her many opponents, the Inhuman let out a blast of vibrations that sent one of the soldiers tumbling back. The man flew back towards the advancing S.H.I.E.L.D. group so fast, it was remarkably cartoon-esque. He slid to a halt between Ward and Rogers, and didn’t move.

Five soldiers now faced off against Skye. One of them was limping, but they all were keeping their distance and spread out around her, guns trained on her heart. Stark and Rhodes were just finishing dispatching their own opponents.

“She got this?” Rogers asked. Ward cocked his head to the side, watching the scene intently as they strode forward with intimidating confidence.

“She will do.” he replied. Then he raised his gun and shot the one who was edging his way behind Skye. The others flinched, breaking their concentration for a split second to glance at the oncoming threat.

A split second was all she needed. Instantly, she pushed herself backwards, flipping up onto her hands and continuing the motion to land another metre along, squarely on her feet. Her hand was raised and releasing a pulse as soon as the four other soldiers fired. The bullets not only stopped in their tracks, they were shunted back along their flightpaths and into the bodies of the men from whom they came. The soldiers dropped.

“Remind me never to pick a fight with you again.” Hunter remarked as they drew closer. Skye grinned. Stark flew over to Barton and Romanoff to help out and Rhodes dropped onto the ground next to the small gathering.

“That was some pretty impressive moves there, Ms Johnson.” War Machine added, his tone one of admiration.

“Thanks.” Skye replied, looking rather proud of herself.

“You okay?” Ward asked, pulling her into a hug.

“Yeah.” She answered, but he had already felt her twitch. Frowning, he pulled back and studied her side.

“No, you’re not.” He sounded put out. “You’ve been shot.”

“I’ll be fine.” She insisted. Simmons immediately moved closer and felt along Skye’s right side.

“If you let me treat you now.” the scientist said, all business. “You will be. This bleeding isn’t going to stop any time soon.”

“We have bigger problems to worry about, like that crazy-ass contraption.” Skye gestured towards it, trying to change the subject. Everyone saw through it. Beyond Skye’s shoulder, Ward saw Barton take out the last of the soldiers left in the hangar.

“Speaking of…” Rhodes trailed off as he jetted over to the entrance. He landed on the ramp and walked inside.

“And if you collapse from a treatable bullet wound, you’re going to be one of them.” Simmons retorted sweetly. Skye opened her mouth to continue being stubborn, but Ward cut her off.

“Listen to the doctor.” He said, glancing at a flicker of motion that caught his eye. “Incoming.”

The others all looked around to see another troop of soldiers enter through a door on the other side of the hangar. May and Rogers shared a look before moving to lend support to Barton and Romanoff. The Hulk could still be heard throughout the base as he pummelled his way through it, the sound punctuated by high-pitched screams.

“Go with them, I’ll stay here.” Ward said to Hunter and Mack.

“I can help–” Skye tried again.

“ _No_ , you will stay put until Simmons is finished.” Ward cut her off again, his expression making it clear he meant to uphold every word himself if he had to.

“Hunter, let’s go. She’s in good hands.” Mack spoke up, tugging on Hunter’s arm.

“Fine.” Hunter grumbled.

“Just don’t die, alright? Bobbi’ll kick my ass.”

“Not to mention mine, just for the sake of it.” Ward added, too quiet for the two other men to hear, but both women snickered.

“She doesn’t hate you.” Simmons said without looking at him as she pushed up Skye’s combat suit to get clear access to the wound.

“What?” Ward was confused.

“Bobbi.” She finally glanced up at him. “She won’t trust you, of course, but she doesn’t hate you.”

“…huh.”

“When’d she tell you this?” Skye asked.

“Before we left. Probably because he’s helping us now, he’s helped us recently, you’re happy and safe, Mack let you in without a fuss, etcetera.” Simmons finally slowed the bleeding. “Ward, could you hold this here, please?” Ward placed his hand over the gauze. “Thank you.” She muttered out of habit as she pulled a sterile needle and thread out of her first aid kit. “Skye, this’ll hurt and I’m sorry. But we don’t have time to numb the area.”

“Copy that.” Skye grimaced. Ward holstered his gun and offered her his hand to hold. She smiled tightly at him, grateful for the support.

“Here we go.” Simmons gently moved the gauze aside, and stuck the needle into Skye’s skin, top right above the bullet hole. Skye hissed in pain, both hands squeezing Ward’s forcefully. Simmons mumbled apologies as she deftly sewed up the wound, tying the end and snipping off the excess thread. Grabbing a cotton plaster from her kit, she placed it over the injury and pressed the tape edges onto Skye’s skin. “All done.”

“Thank God.” Skye moaned, resting her forehead against Ward’s chest. “Painkillers, please?”

“Not until we leave. You need to be in control.” Simmons answered. “I’ll ICE you if it’s too much, okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“All the soldiers are down.” Ward commented. “Let’s go to the others.”

“Ward!” Rogers called from where the rest of the team was walking towards the back of the aircraft. “You all done there?”

“Yes!” Ward replied in kind. “On our way!” Gently, he tugged on Skye’s arm and the three of them made their way over.

Once they were all back together, and the Hulk had burst his way back into the hangar, Rhodes walked out, his visor up and his face grim.

“I don’t care if Coulson or you think this could be used for S.H.I.E.L.D. or the US military,” he began, directing his conversation to May. “There’s no way we’re leaving this thing intact.”

“I agree.” Skye piped up. Her eyes were closed, and her hand held out towards the aircraft.

“I don’t think S.H.I.E.L.D. has the room for it.” Ward said.

“We don’t.” May said. “How do we blow it up?”

“Load it with explosives, and light a really long fuse.” Hunter suggested.

“Don’t need to, there are explosives already on board.” Skye stated matter-of-factly.

Rhodes frowned. “I didn’t see any.”

“They’re wired in, or something. Self-destruct, I think.”

“Well, what else could we do?” Stark asked. “I like the long fuse idea.”

“There’s potential in that.” Romanoff nodded. “Hi, Bruce.” She added as the Hulk joined the party. He grunted.

“Puncture the fuel tank and trail a line of gas from here to the exit.” Ward put his suggestion out there.

“That would give us, what…” Barton started to say, then calculated in his head. “A minute, two, tops before the place blows up?”

“That’s good enough for me.” Simmons said. “Only one person needs to light it, and I’d rather not stand around in a Hydra base for the next half an hour debating the best way to blow it up. And we need to get in contact with The Playground.”

“ _Before_ they go out of their minds with worry.” Skye nodded in agreement.

“ _If_ they haven’t already.” Simmons finished.

“Great. I take it the task for laying the fuel line falls to us?” Stark said, gesturing between himself and his best friend.

“That would make the most sense, yes.” Rogers stated flatly. It came across as slightly sarcastic. “The rest of you, let’s go.”

“You happy to stay Hulked out until we get back to the quinjets?” Barton asked Banner as they started walking towards an exit that was not blown up or identified by a hulk-sized hole.

“His clothes are in rags, of course he is.” Romanoff said, as though it was obvious. Hulk grunted in accordance. “See?” she pointed out. “Even he knows it.”

“I was just making sure.” Barton grumbled. “There’s plenty of clothes in this base that aren’t being used right now.”

Rogers just rolled his eyes and said nothing about it as the team made their way back outside.


	26. The End of The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final update to this, guys! Glad you all stuck around :)

Coulson folded his arms for the fifth time in the space of an hour. His impatience was as obvious as his receding hairline; a mixture of a tight and tired expression on his face, the pacing along the floor in the hospital waiting room despite the fact that his left knee was protesting a little at the repetitive motion, and the rumpled clothing.

May was just as restless, her foot tapping on the linoleum floor and her hands twisting around each other. Simmons next to her was sharing a book about parenting with Fitz, their hands between them intertwined. They were both more relaxed than the director and his deputy, utterly focused on the information in the book rather than the happenings in the next room.

The rest of the team was still at the base, except for Bobbi, keeping the organisation running while Skye is going through labour. Bobbi was flying from Afterlife, the designated pilot for Cal and Jiaying.

 

Inside the delivery room, Skye was struggling to keep her breathing under control. She was much more intently focused on the pain (albeit abated by epinephrine), the contractions to push her babies out, and keeping her powers from shaking the hospital to the ground. Ward, standing next to her beside the bed, was holding her hand with his, and his other was resting on Skye’s thigh.

“Are you ready, Skye?” the midwife said, from her position at the end of the bed. “You’ll need to push again, soon.”

“Have to be.” Skye murmured, the strain colouring her voice so much, Ward worried she was going to burst something. She closed her eyes as she felt another contraction, squeezing her belly and she held her breath as she struggled to push the first child out.

“I see it!” the midwife announced. “The crown of its head, it’s nearly out.”

“Come on, Skye, you can do this.” Ward said encouragingly.

“If you say that _again_ , Ward, these babies will have no chance of getting more siblings.” Skye bit back, then squeezed her eyes shut as she pushed again with the current contraction. Ward nodded and wisely kept his mouth shut.

“The head’s out.” The midwife cradled the head as Skye sucked in a deep breath and readied for the next wave. “One more push, okay Skye?”

“Got it.” Skye answered, though Ward wasn’t sure if the midwife heard. She took a deep breath and repeated the process, straining to push the first child out.

A baby’s wail broke through the noise in the room. Skye and Ward looked down at the midwife, who was holding their firstborn in her hands.

The midwife looked up at the new parents with a beaming smile. “It’s a boy.”

Ward breathed, feeling giddy and light-headed and lost for words at the birth of his firstborn. Beside him, Skye tilted her head back, having no breath to laugh with delight, as her contractions were still coming. The midwife handed the child off to a nurse next to her, who immediately cut the umbilical cord and took him over to the scales to be weighed.

While the post-birth routine was being carried out by the hospital staff, Skye was still struggling to keep her abilities and her breathing under control. Her son still had a twin to pop out after him.

 

Coulson was still pacing, ignoring his protesting knee when he heard the faint cry from the delivery room. He stopped at once, his head whipping round to face the doorway. He wasn’t the only one. May was watching the door just as intently, and FitzSimmons had looked up from their book. Their hands were still entwined.

A nurse poked her head out of the room and looked at the four of them. “The first one’s a boy.” She said, smiling. Then she withdrew back in.

May locked eyes with Coulson.

“A boy.” He said, his face stretched with a wide smile.

“I hope the other’s a girl.” May said, more quietly. She shared a smile with Simmons.

“Then I can teach her all about science!” the scientist exclaimed delightedly.

“What, only you?” Fitz piped up, a raised eyebrow at his girlfriend.

“Well, of course, you as well, Fitz.” She reassured him, and squeezed his hand.

Footsteps had the group looking around to see Cal, Jiaying and Bobbi arriving. The agent looked the calmest of the group, but May and Simmons knew exactly how excited she was.

“What’s the status so far?” Bobbi asked as soon as she got close enough to do so without shouting.

“First one’s been born.” Coulson answered.

“Second should be along soon.” Fitz added.

“Well, what is it?” Cal pressed.

“You have a grandson.” May replied this time.

Jiaying, who up until this point hadn’t uttered a word since they entered the hospital, smiled and turned to Cal. “I told you. Raina’s never wrong.”

“It’s just odd for her to have a vision about this particular thing!” He responded with more gusto than the agents, except for Bobbi, were expecting. She rolled her eyes, amused, and sat down next to Simmons.

“They were arguing about that when they boarded in Afterlife.” She whispered to the pair. Their response was cut off by another wail from the delivery room. A faint tremor rocked the building for a moment afterward.

“Is that the other one?” Cal looked like an excitable puppy; it wasn’t hard to see where Skye got that particular expression from.

“I’m impressed she held out this long.” Simmons remarked to the two on either side of her. Fitz nodded in agreement.

“Wait, that was the first time tonight?” Bobbi raised her eyebrows in surprise. Simmons just nodded, so she and Fitz looked like they were bobbing in tandem. “ _Really_? Not even after the first one?”

“It’s probably a mental thing.” Fitz murmured thoughtfully.

“What was that, Fitz?” May asked, standing up.

Fitz blinked, looking up at the deputy. “Just that Skye not shaking anything until after the second twin was born was probably down to the mental aspect of knowing there’s no more to come.”

“Yet.” Bobbi interjected.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Agent Morse.” Jiaying moved over, Cal following, but his eyes were on the doors of the delivery room. “I think two children at once will be more than enough for two active S.H.I.E.L.D. agents for quite a while to come.”

Bobbi just shrugged.

The nurse who informed the waiting room of the gender of the first baby walked through the doors and smiled at the group.

“Please tell me the second one is a girl.” May said before the nurse could open her mouth.

The nurse just laughed. “No, it’s a boy. Twin boys.”

Both Coulson and Cal made similar gestures of _Yes!_ but only one saw what the other did; Cal was closer to the nurse.

“You can go through.” The nurse said. “Are _all_ of you related?”

All except Cal and Jiaying shook their heads. The nurse just nodded as if she was satisfying a curiosity, and walked back into the delivery room, followed by the entire group.

Skye looked over, clearly exhausted, but smiled when she saw her parents. “Mom, Dad! You made it!” she said, trying to sit up straighter with one of the babies in her arms. Ward was standing next to the bed, switching his gaze from the agents congratulating him and the doctor, who was weighing the younger of the twins.

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Jiaying moved to the side of the bed that Ward wasn’t occupying and kissed her daughter on the forehead. Cal hovered on the opposite side, shaking Ward’s hand and subtly blocking Coulson from getting closer to Skye.

“Boys!” Cal grinned, gently rubbing the older boy’s head, covered as it was in a beanie. “They’ll be a handful!”

“And that’s without activating their Inhuman DNA.” May added from the foot of the bed. She gazed fondly at the baby that was now being loaded into Ward’s arms. “They won’t have to ever do that, will they?” she didn’t look up at Jiaying as she asked this, but it was clear to whom she was speaking.

“They’ll be tested on whether or not they’re of an appropriate temperament to handle the changes, if they choose to follow that path.” Jiaying responded. “But they won’t be forced into it, none of us should be.”

“I wish Raina had given me that choice.” Skye said softly. Everyone looked at her, but she was looking at her son in her arms, almost oblivious to the people gathered around her.

“What are you gonna name them, Skye?” Simmons asked, cooing over the youngest.

Skye looked up at Ward, sharing a small smile. “Well, I thought this one,” she said, indicating the child in her arms. “Would be called Steven.” She paused as she looked up at Coulson, whose eyes had gone wide.

“Please don’t tell me the other’s going to be called Roger.” May interjected, Bobbi echoing the sentiment.

“Why not?” Coulson retorted. “Please do!”

“Why make two references to one superhero?” Cal demanded. “I’m with them on this!” he gestured to May and Bobbi.

Skye and Ward just sat back and watched their friends and family argue over namesakes, laughing to themselves as they had already chosen their second son’s name.

“Guys!” Fitz finally yelled, getting all their attention. “I don’t think you choose the names.”

“Thanks, Fitz.” Ward said. “We’ve already decided this one’s going to be called Nathan.”

“I like it.” May said, after a moment of silence. She looked around at everyone, daring them to say otherwise.

“What are their full names?” Bobbi asked.

“Steven Douglas Ward.” Skye answered.

“And Nathan Thomas Ward.” Ward finished, settling Nathan as he did so.

“Good strong names. “ Cal approved.

“No Chinese names for them?” Jiaying queried.

“I wouldn’t know where to begin.” Skye laughed, breathlessly.

“How about…Fèn Huī? It means ‘exert brightness’.”

Skye nodded. “I like that…for Steven?” She directed the question at her husband, looking up at Ward.

“Yeah, that sounds good. May?” He nodded and glanced at the deputy.

May thought for a moment. “Qiáng Jīng. It means ‘powerful spirit’.”

Everyone nodded and agreed that they were good names for the new Ward twins. Then Cal thought of something.

“Wouldn’t it be ironic if their Chinese names were exactly what they become as Inhumans?”

Skye rolled her eyes and shared a look with Ward.

“It’s only just beginning.” He said.

“I know.” She replied, smiling down at Steven. “Can’t wait.”


End file.
